


I Have a Cunning Plan, My Lord

by NowWeChoke



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Consentual rape, Dysfunctional Family, Erotic Fantasies, Explicit Language, Extended Universe, F/M, Fear of Affection, Hallucinations, Illusions, Kylo's PoV, Love/Hate, Masturbation, Masturbation Interruptus, New SW Canon, Not Canon Compliant, Seduction to the Dark Side, Sex, Sexual Inexperience, Sexual Tension, Thanx Wookieepedia, The Dark Side of the Force, Unhealthy Relationships, Villain Protagonist, Virgin Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 80,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25388503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowWeChoke/pseuds/NowWeChoke
Summary: ... and it is so cunning you can put a tail on it and call it a weasel!The events develop between Episodes VIII and IX, in which Episode IX would have been completely different...  Kylo receives a gift from an unknown benefactor, and making insidious plans goes in search of a dirty scavenger Rey to avenge his humiliation on Supremacy, not suspecting that he has become a pawn in someone else's game."Kylo would never admit it, but now that he saw Rey again, just killing her, capturing the Falcon and returning to the Finalizer would have been too unimaginative. He suddenly had so many open questions and unresolved matters to discuss with her...When he offered Rey to become his apprentice and to share with him the ruling of the Galaxy, Kylo never thought about her lips and how pleasant it would be to… kiss them. Seeing the girl as a Force-sensitive person, a dangerous rival, or a useful ally, he barely thought of her as... a girl! She turned into the character of his dirty fantasies, which became real with her help."Everyone should know a total love at least once... Thanks to Missio for the inspiration...I'm a Russian speaking writer so please do not be too harsh commenting this work
Relationships: Kylo Ren & Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron/Original Female Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 38
Kudos: 84





	1. The Phantasm of a Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [I Have A Cunning Plan, Mylord...(dixi)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446916) by [NowWeChoke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NowWeChoke/pseuds/NowWeChoke). 



> Kylo Ren / BEN SOLO
> 
> Creator - George Lucas
> 
> Activity - Supreme Leader and Commander of the First Order
> 
> Marital status: Not married
> 
> Kylo has a remarkable appearance: long black hair, brown eyes, an angular face and an awkward tall figure.
> 
> The hero is about 30 years old.
> 
> He has the ability to penetrate someone else's mind and feel someone else's presence. Possesses telekinesis - can stop blaster bolts midair and control a lightsaber at a distance. Masterfully handle arms and together with a partner can scatter a crowd of opponents. The reason for Kylo's transition to the Dark was that Master Luke tried to kill him in his sleep. Luke could sense the stirring of the Dark side in the young man and feared the consequences. But it turned out that while his master was standing over him with a drawn lightsaber and pondering whether to strike him or not, Kylo woke up and made his own conclusions. ©

The swampy soil crumpled and sobbed plaintively underneath heavy strides. Huge boots left deep marks in it. They were immediately filled with brown muddy sludge to the very brim. His shuttle was already far behind, and still the landscape of cold slimy jungle remained unchanged. But the silence was the most annoying... No, some sounds could be heard – piercing animal squeals came from the thicket, loud drops fell from the swollen branches into the puddles on the ground, somewhere above the trees the wind rustled. Although these were no sane sounds, still Kylo Ren felt something.

He glanced at the tracker that he considerately brought with him from the Silencer – the coordinates were correct. Unidentified message that he received recently referred to that particular planet and this area. Ren affirmed it when he landed on a clearing that was mentioned in the hologram as one of the first landmarks. The second was a road overgrown with vines which he discovered just north of the landing site, that was also indicated in the message. It came to almost complete desolation, but still was guessable. Even some rough pavement has survived although it was blown up by tree roots and interspersed with shallow bogs. That was all... No intelligent presence.

Kylo tried not to lose his composure. In quietude and inner peace he was most concentrated and ready to show a flash-like response to any assailant, may the Sith be merciful. However once again tripping over something and receiving a heavy slap by a fleshy wet leaf right across his face he could not hold back a dull roar and angry thoughts.

None of this would have happened if that damn girl, the scavenger from Jakku, hadn't set him up. Jakku?.. The true shithole of the Galaxy!.. For the thousandth time Ren recollected how he held out his hand and begged her to join him, and for the thousandth time he felt unbearable shame and despair. He went to sleep with these feelings and woke up with them, he lived with them, carefully hiding them from his subordinates. They burned an obnoxious aching hole in his chest. Every day it was filled with new portion of hatred which threatened to splash out on anything or anyone at any minute. Now he couldn’t even pronounce her name without repugnance, and the memories of her face, eyes and touches caused disgusting convulsions, as if she were not human, but a dirty murglak.

Praise the Darkness, there were no more Force-bonds between them. Her sudden appearance would make it very difficult for Kylo to keep inside what he has eaten earlier. Were he a droid full data wipe would have saved him. But blood and flesh that made him and most importantly his mind were unable to erase the incident from his memory. And he recalled again...

The Throne room on Supremacy, dead bodies of the Praetorians, flashes from distant explosions in huge viewports, and ... Rey! Nothing that was between them before that moment could push her to the Dark side. Not their short but confiding conversations during Force-visions, not their common battle against Snoke's guard, not Kylo's plea to become his equal. Ren growled again and impatiently wiped the sweat off his face without any surprise sensing it’s salty taste. He tried to grab Skywalker's sword still hoping to get her with it. But when he awoke after a stunning blow in the company of Hux and in complete absence of the girl, he started to detest Rey even more than his treacherous master or his useless dad.

The mere stab of a lightsaber would be to much for her, she was not worthy of such a peaceful and quick death. In order to make great play with the girl, he had to get her alive, chained by magnacuffs in the interrogation module in the most secret holding cell of the Finalizer. Now that the star destroyer was repaired and at full disposal of Kylo, the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, he could do whatever he wanted not being obliged to report to anyone...

But Rey slipped away after the Battle of Crait, seeped through his leather-clad fingers, just like Han Solo's dice. Now Ren holds them in his hand, feels a pleasant weight, hears the tinkle of a gilded chain, senses a long-forgotten smell that emanated from his father when he was returning from a long trip, not unpleasant, nostalgic, even inviting. And then they dissolve in the air like a defective hologram, leaving behind a yearning void.

The Resistance remained a pain in the ass of the First Order, and its Supreme Leader couldn't sleep peacefully. After Crait the rebels had disappeared. But the informants reported the disturbing news about a secret mobilization that was going on throughout the inhabited regions of the Galaxy of all dissatisfied with the Order, this throwback of the once great Galactic Empire. Kylo himself was not particularly fascinated with this legacy. Recently he stopped idolizing his great grandfather. If only to think about it thoroughly everything appeared in a different, not so Sith-glorious colors. After all Darth Vader wavered and left the Dark side for the sake of family ties.

Now that Kylo was older, more learned although more bigoted, he could not forgive his grandfather for killing his master, although willingly forgave himself for killing his own. In truth two of them... Both Snoke and Skywalker perished with his help. Not being a Sith, not having met a single one in whole thirty years of his life he instinctively honored their code. Kill whoever you want at any time. Betrayal is always the right path. Learn and master the Force through passion. Appropriate power, impose individual rule. Take what you desire and give nothing in return!.. From the ancient dark heritage Ren was more than eager to use only what was beneficial to him alone.

And troublesome mobilization of those discontented with the Order and his leadership couldn't be less beneficial for Kylo. Moreover he felt what the informants couldn't fathom. The rebels weren't just recruiting soldiers, they were looking for Force-sensitive people. No doubt to rebuild the Jedi Order that Ren had tried to crush from his first steps on the Dark side, ever since he had destroyed Ben Solo within. He strongly believed that scrawny Jakku scavenger with her "friends" and his mother were looming behind it all. They were ready to squander away the secret knowledge of the Force to build up their power, and Kylo had nothing to oppose them. Hux and his stormtroopers proved to be just as unstable as Ren's sword. FN-whatsoever became the perfect proof of that.

But authorless hologram that emerged right out of thin air gave Ren hope. The map and only one inscription "midi-chlorians" became a revelation for him, a saving straw. That is why he turned out here, in the thickening twilight not predicting anything good, on a planet saturated with rotten moisture in the backyards of the Outer Rim. Oh yes, Jakku was a shithole, but it could boast of being close to civilization compared to this lump of magma and dung, thrown by some proto-explosion into a dark corner of the Outer Systems, somewhere behind a stinky leaking crapper. Only because of the scavenger Kylo has been wandering in an unknown direction answering an unknown call with wet feet and dump scruff. And all by himself, for he was ordered to come alone…

Kylo was ripped out from his oppressive thoughts as soon as he saw mossy sign with only one word “Laboratory” inscribed on it with faded chipped paint. This was the third mark from the anonymous map and the last one. Not far away a two-story building from stone towered amid the dark green coppice. And although it was already reclaimed by nature – entwined with tentacles of vines and decorated with patterns of bindweed – Ren felt that the structure was inhabited. Or has been just recently.

Walking around it he found a small hatch buried into the depth of the wall and with powerful movements freed it from the vegetation. Opening control panel was nowhere to be found and Kylo leaned against the wall to catch his breath a little and collect his thoughts. Accidentally resting his broad palm on the surface of the hatch he almost fell down – under his massive weight the door began to move and with a soft hiss disappeared into the upper grooves.

Ren was surprised into grabbing his weapon and breathing erratically tensed so abruptly that his neck muscles cramped. He activated his sword in anticipation and bared his teeth trying to concentrate and see possible attackers. But whoever had sent the message to attract Ren here unlikely wanted to just get rid of him. Kylo had no rivals on the Dark side, he took care of this. As for his enemies from the Light, such plan would be too low for them.

He immediately straightened up staring into the gaping darkening tunnel that opened behind the hatch, brushed back jet-black bangs that fell over his eyes and turned off the angry crackling laser of the crossguard saber. Kylo hated to get into such awkward situations. He was fed up with ridicule and mockery as a child, in the Jedi school of Skywalker, where everybody and his brother joked about his high blood and no less grandiose ears. Even all alone he did not allow himself to relax or look comical. The Master of the Knights of Ren was immune to humor, especially when it referred to his person.

As soon as his heartbeat quietened down in the depth of the corridor Kylo heard sounds similar to those made by droids. He knew the basics of binary pretty well – still being Ben Solo he spent a lot of time in the company of R2-D2 of his deceitful uncle. However this time he could make out just a few words. Long forgotten, as if from the days gone by – "padawan", "killer", "destiny", "midi-chlorians"... Kylo frowned and tilted his head to one side. It was as if a ceremonial droid had been speaking in the language of astromech.

His mother read him fairy tales about imperial robots when he was still soiling himself and worshiping his parents. He took a deep breath to calm the sudden excitement that seized him - either from memory or from impatience - then looked back as if he expected to see someone there. But the thicket was still deserted. Only darkness moved closer so that the stars became more visible through the branches of the trees. Holding back his sword and his anxious feelings Ren entered the hallway.

As soon as he went inside the hatch with the same soft "shshshsh" slid behind him. Unable to cope with the panic Kylo rushed back scrabbling the door with his hands like a trapped animal. At that moment the Supreme Leader was so freaked out that his instinct of self-esteem did not turn on in time. He was immediately struck by a strange thought.

Han Solo, his dearest parent, about whose existence, and most importantly, about whose death he wanted to forget so strongly, spent his whole life in such adventures. Anyhow he was his father's son... But then faint neon lights lit up along the walls going forward and somewhere to the right illuminating the grim corridor. Swallowing horror Ren gritted his teeth and went ahead.

They don’t build them like this anymore. The walls were rough-hewn, unpainted – plain raw stone without faux windows to create the illusion of open space or hidden compartments with equipment and fiber optic as if it were all the creation of one mind, one being and construction was not its strong side. But on the other hand the straight gallery ahead did not pose any threats.

Kylo hesitated at the turn just for a second. He cautiously looked out, assessed the situation and entered a spacious hall, from the outlines of which it was clear that it occupied the entire space of the building. If it was a laboratory, as the sign outside said, nothing in the room indicated it. No any medical devices were visible. At the center of the room a table stood with several seats around it, one higher than the rest. On the table was a control panel with buttons. Absolutely clean and in perfect order it looked like the room was abandoned just before Ren’s arrival.

The droid that he heard at the entrance turned out to be a hologram displaying in the center of the table and the recording was put on repeat. The words he understood interspersed with unknown binary gibberish were repeated over and over again at regular intervals. Ren thought regretfully that maybe he had paid not enough attention to the history of the Galactic Empire at school.

The droid on the hologram was of the most outdated model. Even the round dome and three-legged rollers of R2-D2 looked like sophisticated engineering in comparison with it. And the strangest thing about it was its color – the robot was completely black and smooth. As if it has one single function. One intention... He had to meet Kylo Ren and deliver him these words. Or maybe it had to contact someone else for whom the message would not be so meaningless.

Ren walked around the table lightly touching its surface. He was still trying to understand what was happening, why he was here and with what purpose. How it can help him in his fight against the rebels and what a fool he probably seemed to those who have brought him here using mysterious "midi-chlorians " as a decoy? This word alone has been able to lure Kylo Ren to a remote planet situated far from main galactic routes and as deserted as Tatooine during sandstorm.

Nothing was known about midi-chlorians since the defeat of the Galactic Republic. Under the Palpatine’s rule knowledge about the Force became the prerogative of a narrow circle of medical officials within the imperial hierarchy, those who were especially favored by the supreme power. And the Emperor himself. The rest could simply lose their lives for using it. Ren didn’t know the full meaning of this word. Unfortunately Leia didn't tell him tales about it. Han Solo openly considered the Jedi to be ridiculous superstition. Had Ren approached him with such questions he would have told him to get lost, preferably somewhere in the vicinity of the Kessel run.

But Kylo had a gut feeling that midi-chlorians were the inherent part of the Jedi ways and the Force, and therefore they were also connected with its Dark side. And now the droid in front of him was repeating the mysterious word over and over stirring his interest with every repetition. The tallest chair beckoned him inevitably and despite his excitement and fear Ren flopped into it stretching his long legs under the table with unexpected relief. Knitting brow and nervously quirking his knee he stared at the hologram.

The springs beneath him buckled and immediately after that the image wavered. It did not disappear completely, but began to change. The form floated, stretched out and Kylo saw a heavy cloaked man with a hood pulled deep over his face.

“I don’t know who you are, my padawan, but if you’re here, it is your destiny,” the hologram said pompously.

Kylo gave a start when suddenly he heard a human voice in Galactic Standard for the greater effect magnified by invisible speakers. However he instantly became all ears and avidly glared at the queer figure not wanting to miss a word or a gesture.

“If you are here then you are the last hope of the Dark side, oh my unknown disciple,” the messenger continued. "So the will of the Darkness has been accomplished and the victory will be ours. Get ready for the ultimate Sith lesson!.."

"But I'm not yet a S…" Ren began in a quivering whisper but immediately fell silent.

The tabletop in front of him opened and inside of a small cavity he saw some neat bundle - a linen cloth bound by a coarse string.

"Trust me," said the hologram bewitchingly and froze.

Kylo gasped with curiosity and opened his mouth like a kid in anticipation of a present. The pupils of his dark eyes widened so that they turned from brown into black while his right hand clenched into a fist and started to tremble as in extreme tension. The figure before him began to move and its mesmerizing voice boomed again.

"My young apprentice, you see a special device before you, a forgotten technology. I would like you to take it out and test on yourself."

Kylo stared at the wrap inside the tabletop not daring to touch it as if sensing something ominous in the ancient cloth that carefully covered its contents. In the next words of the figure he heard malicious impatience:

"Dismiss all doubts!!! Brace yourself!!! Collect you dark will! You need to pass the test before I take you further! If you cannot make up your mind leave this room, but do not disappoint me, lad..."

Now in the voice of the hologram, which previously was rather peaceful and slow, Ren discerned hysterical, almost angry vibes. He felt like a child and momentarily remembered Snoke's rebuffs when he ridiculed Kylo for his mask, for doubts and scruples, for weakness and failure in the fight against Rey. His breathing quickened. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair and feeling impotent rage and shame began to pull off his gloves. The video in front of him got stuck for a second and started again.

“Yes, yes, my boy,” the figure drawled with satisfaction. "It's you, and you will succeed..."

The wrap contained a small device. Nothing intimidating - two active plates connected by wires to a block with a monochrome screen and a set of needles and glasses, similar to those intended for taking blood samples. But these were made peculiarly. Incomprehensible symbols covered grey metal casing. The plates were pretty worn out, apparently from frequent use, so that in some places their surface was polished to a luster and the runes almost disappeared. Several glasses in the set were covered with some kind of brownish coating. Kylo figured sickeningly that most likely it was dried blood. Probably the device had not been in use since its last owner, and chances were that he was not deprived of it with his free will.

“You cannot know what this device does, poor boy, I will readily excuse your fault.” The figure shook its head in feigned regret. “But this technology was too dangerous to get into the wrong hands. We had to eradicate any trace of it. Although initially it did not belong to us, we had to keep it for the sake of our ulterior triumph. Now I am ready to pass it over and you will finish what we started with your grandfather. You will achieve even more, now that we are gone."

Ren peered at the hologram. He could not believe his own senses - it was the emperor himself, the greatest Sith, Palpatine! Okay, only in image, Kylo corrected himself with annoyance and just small amount of relief, but nonetheless it was him...

"Some glasses in the set are still sterile, why don't you use one of these? One light prick is more than enough. And midi-chlorians will reveal you their mystery,” the figure said, lowering its voice almost to a whisper.

With trembling hands Kylo pulled out a needle and two clean glasses. As it happened he knew this procedure perfectly. During his Jedi training, afterwards, when he resumed his schooling under Snoke and later when he carried out missions with the Knights of Ren he visited medlabs more regularly than canteens. Even his most vicious detractors would not dare to accuse Kylo of cowardice or charge him with a desire to hide behind the backs of the others. His body was slashed with badly healed scars. And of course after his flights on planets of the Outer Rim meddroids always insisted on compulsory blood tests in order to detect and eliminate possible alien infections. Ren expertly squeezed the pad of his finger several times and pricked the reddened skin with a needle. The voice from the speakers reassuringly accompanied his actions:

"Midi-chlorians give you power to control the Force. They are the Force itself within you. They reclaimed your body, they chose to live inside you multiplying and replenishing. The greater is their quantity, the more is your potential. Hope you didn't think that the only reason for your abilities is your ancestry? Midi-chlorians are intelligent structures and always aim for symbiosis with living organisms. However only some amount of them you've got with the assistance of your mother," here the figure chuckled obscenely and continued more sternly. "After your father had interfered there were not so many of them left in her."

Kylo, who had already placed the glass with his blood sample in the device, raised his head and looked at the speaker. If this really was Palpatine, how then did he know the details of Ren's life? The Empire fell before his birth. And he was amazed when, as if in response to his doubts, he heard:

"You are probably wondering, my young apprentice, how do I know so much about you - your mother, your insensitive father... Oh, midi-chlorians are too clever, they didn't want to populate a dirty incapable body. And I've always held an opinion that nothing comes from nothing. Strategic vision is one of the main strong points of the Dark side. With a little thought anyone would've guessed that Leia Organa and Han Solo would become parents, just as they became comrades-in-arms and lovers."

Kylo winced. He didn't want to hear about love affairs of his parents. To distract himself from the uncomfortable topic he tried to figure out how to turn on the device, now that the blood sample was sandwiched between two metal plates. He was concerned that he would have to cast some kind of spell in order for it to operate. He didn't have any other ideas why else all this letters were written on the casing.

“Just turn it over, boy,” the figure said matter-of-factly and Kylo looked around in dismay.

Was it even possible that a hologram was spying on him?! Unless of course the video was set up in such a way as to give some kind of instructions at regular intervals...

Once again abating his astonishment and obediently following the command he spotted a small button hidden on the bottom of the box. Ren pressed it and with tips of his fingers felt that the device sprang to life. It vibrated delicately and its screen glowed with greenish light. It was outdated indeed. Nowadays such green monochrome screens could have be found only on museum exhibits.

"...Not so many, yes," the voice continued the story. "But midi-chlorians are amazing creatures. They can divide and reproduce on their own accord until their host's puberty, when they reach the highest rate of concentration that will be kept at the same level until the biological death of the host."

Kylo considered these words for a moment. His conflict with Skywalker occurred when Ren was just nineteen. He remembered Luke standing by his bed with fear and determination in his eyes holding active lightsaber in one hand. He thought about Rey whose rise in the Force was so fast. She couldn't be more than... what?.. twenty now?.. And than he noticed numbers that started to appear on the screen. 

1... 17... 39... 168... The figure rose and rose not intending to stop while mysterious figure still spoke.

“Yes, midi-chlorians are truly intelligent beings. But they pay no mind for differences between good and evil, light and darkness. They choose their host not according to these parameters. They act following their own unfathomable rules not in obedience with the Jedi ethic," it said with contempt. "Our enemies weren't able to control them!"

The number on the device in Kylo's hands has already exceeded 5000 and has not stopped yet.

"Unfortunately so did we... However after all my searches something was revealed to me. You should use the Force-sensitive material. You must form midi-chlorian hosts by the severity of the Dark side. Bring them to the brink of their existence, test their abilities up to the hilt. Do it everyday, every hour and every second!.. But hear this - that is the most important. **They need to be mated with each other!** Their breed will become unequal Force-users."

Kylo leaned back in his chair. Strange grin touched his pouty mouth. Last number that he saw on the device was 13329 and was still counting...

“Yes, I can see your objection's coming,” The hooded figure gave a patronizing nod. “We mighty Force-users were always strict celibatarians. The Jedi had their precious Order. The Sith obeyed the cursed Rule of Two - single master and single apprentice. But pray tell me where was the good of it all?! Never have two organisms with Force abilities been interbred to produce an offspring. I can acknowledge that it happened... in wild life. But these cases weren't properly documented or systematized. The product of their mating wasn't used. You shouldn't repeat our mistakes! Start with yourself. You don't need to preach the Darkness to the Force-user, but to..."

Here the hologram faltered while Kylo laughed up his sleeve. When he was hoping for any assistance from the unknown benefactor, he couldn't even imagine that instead of a secret super-weapon he would be offered to fuck someone.

"Start with collecting of the biological material. With that device you will be able to do it faster than your enemy. Replicate it. I pass you the blueprints for its mass production," here another section in the tabletop opened and Ren saw some tracing copies rolled into a tube. “I am not fancying the idea that you will be able to conceal this technology from the enemy side, sooner rather than later they will steal it. But second part of my message, the important part, you should keep in secret. When you will get first children of the Force, you will create an army of Force-users, brought up on the Dark side. Than it will make no difference who possess the device. Thus you will hasten not only your victory, but the victory of the Darkness!"

The figure was floating in midair, but than it fluttered and disappeared. Still lost in thoughts Kylo was staring at the spot where a few seconds ago the dead Emperor Palpatine sold him his power recipe.

"The Army of the Force-users? As potent as me?.." he grinned. "Hmmmm ... Think I'll pass... But thanks for the device, it'll definitely speed things up..."

Then he noticed the number on the screen. It read 20971.


	2. The Outline of a Triumph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be closer to his idol Kylo wears a mask... but the audience is allowed to see the hero without this item, and in some episodes even without his shirt.
> 
> ...Due to his complexity as a villain Kylo Ren is more interesting than Darth Vader: his flaws, fears, emotions and development during the movies mold a meaningful character that was not previously present in the Star Wars franchise. Kylo is constantly progressing. He is impulsive, sometimes nervous and weak. But his weakness is the strength of him as a character. While the role of Darth Vader has a simple features, his redemption is a plot device rather than a characteristic, Kylo Ren's hectic journey reveals that he is active and still develops as a person in TLJ finale.
> 
> Kylo's quick temper, his difficult biography, anger susceptibility, volatility and high emotional sensitivity make the hero more believable and familiar to the audience.
> 
> The smashing of Kylo Ren's mask in TLJ contributes to the success of Adam Driver. Ben angrily destroys it after Snoke taunts him for his childishness and desire to copy Darth Vader. This shows that the character is vulnerable and emotionally fragile which would be impossible if he was like Darth Vader. ©

Kylo landed in the main dock of the Finalizer longing for food, shower and clean underwear. And with fervent desire to get to work here and than! Strange trembling that appeared on the tips of his fingers and somewhere down the spine required an outcome. He experienced an overpowering interest to use the device on someone even with minimal traces of the Force-sensitivity. He hadn’t felt such a thirst for action since the day Snoke sent him to find Skywalker. He sure had a lot of fun on Jakku extracting information about his former master…

However as soon as Ren boarded the cruiser he bumped into Hux surrounded by stormtroopers. That one was so far away from the Force as it was possible. Armitage Hux, the prissy twat of the first order, always carried around with him a bunch of laser weapons attached to his bodyguards, most of the time useless. Ren never trusted him, for that indulgence Armitage was too ambitious and narcissistic. And now he – not a hair out of place, with parting certainly made by a ruler, in a crispy starched uniform and highly polished boots – was standing in front of a sweaty, dirty and worn-out Ren really yearning for a telekinetic slap in the face. Exhaustion from multiple hyper-jumps that he had to make in order to confuse potential pursuit interfered with Kylo’s intentions to use the Force on his subordinate.

When Hux has been speaking, his tone wasn’t enough subservient. It wouldn't take Ewok brains to realize that he was truly reluctant to obey. But now Ren had no choice. He needed to share with the General at least some of the news that he’d gotten from the mysterious well-doer, until he gets a more reliable ally.

“General,” Kylo curtly nodded at the direction of Hux.

“Supreme Leader, I hope everything’s... alright?” the General asked, with feigned anxiety examining Ren’s cape which was torn in several places and heavily stained with something fuscous.

“Are you disappointed?" almost escaped Kylo’s lips, but he walked past Hux without deigning to look at him again heading for his quarters. Armitage gave a sign to the stormtroopers to stay at a distance and ran alongside his commander. It took him some time to adapt to the long strides of the Supreme Leader. The General couldn't be considered undersized - in shoulder-padded uniform he gave junior officers goose-flesh. But Kylo seemed a head taller than Hux even when he looked drawn after the long trip. And human height had nothing to do with it.

“The mission had been... productive, I presume?..” Hux asked again and added at the next breath not waiting for an answer: “You shouldn’t have gone all alone. You don’t need to put your life at hazard now that you are our Supreme Leader and the only hope of the First Order in the fight against...”

Kylo frowned not slowing down and tried to discern the irony in the voice of the General. Hux decided not to push his luck or dig more into the sweet talk and reported:

“In your absence I continued my intelligence work and not without success. The spy network that was created following my command acts like a well-oiled machine. I guarantee you that soon we will get to the rebel center, that was lost on Crait.”

Of course he didn’t forget to overfill his speech with self-praise and aggrandizement though he had tactfully forgotten that Ren was almost solely responsible for the failure in that battle.

“Last week we managed to capture several people, sympathizers of the enemy, together with quite a few Order-hostile non-humans. I postponed the interrogation process until your return. Presumably one of the captives is acquainted with the highest ranking Resistance members, but we still need to clarify this.”

Kylo came to a sudden halt. "Mom... The girl?.." flashed in his head. He looked at Hux, who under his own momentum nearly flew into the closest partition.

"Somebody Force-sensitive?" asked Ren aloud.

The General's eyes widened for a second in genuine horror, his upper lip trembled, revealing his teeth. Now he looked like a caged-in Naboo greysor. His red hair became a great addition to the image. Afraid to meet Kylo's demanding gaze and carefully choosing his words he mumbled:

“Well… Supreme Leader… we can't… mmm… it's beyond our power… in your absence, to discover their… mmm… abilities…"

“Right,” Ren suddenly agreed. “Now you will get a chance to do it,” he stabbed Hux in the chest with his forefinger. “Yes, you, General, or someone to whom you’ll delegate it.”

Having said it he resumed his pace nonchalantly to the complete astonishment of Hux. The General had already tightened himself up - he was prepared to feel the invisible choker on his neck any moment. Coming to his senses Armitage had to run again to catch up with Ren. With a brief finger - and thought - pass Kylo opened the hatch and entered into the room while Hux humbly stayed at the threshold clasping his hands behind his back.

“And you are talking about… what exactly?..” he smiled shyly, visibly scared for his stupidity. “Pardon me, I believe I need more clarifications to process it, Supreme Leader...”

For a split second seeing this reaction Ren wanted to quote the words of his unnamed benefactor out loud: “You cannot know what this is, poor boy, I will readily excuse your fault.” A ghost of a grin touched his lips, but of course he remained silent. Hux had to watch Ren's chaotic movements around the room, which were creating slight air swirls.

Kylo tore off his dirty cape and carelessly bundling it shoved into the garbage disposer. Then, just as quickly, he removed his belt and unbuttoned the surcoat throwing them on the floor. He grabbed a flask from the nearby table, unscrewed it and pressed it to his lips. While he was greedily swallowing water, his eyes closed in delight and his throat jerked convulsively.

Tossing the flask away, he kicked off his boots sending them flying in different directions. One flopped down on the chair, the other on the utility droid that squeaked and retreated into the corridor. Than as if suddenly remembering something he froze, growled angrily and picked up his surcoat. Kylo put his hand into one of its inner pockets and a moment later handed Armitage a parcel — metal casing of the device was peeping out from under the cover.

“Engage technicians, like, you know... yesterday!” Ren exclaimed, trying to calm his breath and simultaneously pulling his shirt out of his trousers. "Assemble the team personally. Send me private data files of all the candidates for the approval. Use droids as often as possible on condition that their memory will be wiped regularly. The drafts of the device are in here. Start mass production as soon as the techs take a good look at them. Order medics to improve the process of blood sampling and counting of the level, it should be done much quicker than by the prototype. Come up with an appropriate name for all of this to delude the enemy. Something as intimidating as Starkiller or even more... confusing will do. I'm sure you'll come up with something. The main purpose is to ensure complete, absolute security."

Hux listened to the orders from the Supreme Leader frowning increasingly and trying to figure out what he gave him and what he wanted from him. Ren pursed his lips in displeasure and closed the hatch with another Force move. The General watched in terror as the mousetrap slammed shut behind him, than again with growing alarm glanced at the half-naked Kylo, who already ditched his greasy shirt. The aroma that emanated from the sweaty Supreme Leader hasn't been exactly daisies and roses, which made Armitage wince involuntarily.

“Unprecedented security,” Ren drawled, wiping his armpits with the shirt and throwing it away into the garbage. "Is this clear?"

Hux nodded in utter bewilderment. Always so full of himself The Master of the Knights of Ren never before showed him this side of his personality. The virgin priestesses from Doan haven't been guarding their honor and dignity as fiercely as Kylo. For one wrong look at him one might be thrown out in the outer space without a pressure suit through the nearest ventilation shaft. And now he tramped in front of the General barefooted and half-naked not demonstrating any embarrassment. Moreover at any minute Ren was ready to take off his trousers! Hux closed his eyes dreading this.

“Stop playing a barghest, Hux!” Ren shouted clenching his fists but decided against total undressing. “This little piece of machinery detects the level of the Force within a living organism. That is everything you need to know right now. It'll help us not only to identify a Forсe-user but to understand how potent he is. While the Resistance use manual methods recruiting Force-sensitives we can set up a massive check under the guise of the routine medical examination and test everyone. All systems. All planets. Us. And them... You, Hux, eventually,” Kylo added with an unexpected tease in his look.

The General felt like a hero of a legend when he heard a joke from the Supreme Leader, and although he couldn't guess what response would be more appropriate, he tried to stretch his lips in a semblance of a smile. Ren was definitely in a good humor. However maybe it wasn't a joke after all... And then Armitage understood everything. He grew serious, knitted his brows, glanced at the bundle in his hands and began to nod. Kylo looked at him expectantly and nodded in unison.

“Yes, oh yes...” Hux said this time genuinely smiling. “The level of the Force? In anyone?” he bit his thumbnail, his teeth chattering finely, then unconsciously ruffled his picture-perfect hair and pressed a finger to his mouth, shushing himself, after which Ren realized that part of his active energy transferred to the General. “I'll give all directions immediately, Supreme Leader,” he said in a most serious tone.

“I would like you to manage this project yourself to avoid unwanted data leaks,” Kylo said sharply. “And don't stop the search for the new Resistance base not for a minute. We'll need test subjects, as many Force-sensitive beings as possible, babies and children including... Afterwards they can be disposed of.”

“What... all of them?” Hux cringed.

“Well,” Ren condescended, “only those who'll refuse to join our ranks... Unfortunately we will not be able to give this option to the impenitent traitors. But I will be the ultimate authority to make that kind of decision.”

Armitage's eyes gleamed feverishly. Being a zealot of the holocaustal technology and military inventions he had already envisioned all the advantages of Kylo's action plan. It'll approximate the domination of the First Order. One small device will change the balance of power in the ongoing war once and for all. As soon as the Resistance has not yet regained its strength it can be crushed with its own weapon - the Force. He looked at Ren with true adoration through the real tears of idolatrous delight. At that moment Hux was actually loyal to him. Maybe later he will cherish the thought to overthrow the Supreme Leader again, but now he was his faithful servant.

“New method, new order!” he rapped out accompanying each word with a flick of his clenched fist.

Kylo waved to open the hatch making it clear that the meeting was over. The General clicked his heels, saluted the Supreme Leader and turned around to leave. But then Ren seemed to recall something and snapped his fingers. Hux froze midway as if paralyzed.

“And here's one more thing, General. Order some food to be brought to me, would you?”

He snapped again returning Hux the ability to move. But the General was so excited that he readily excused Ren this witchcraft and the fact that he was sent to get the supper as a simple kitchen droid.

“Of course,” he said shortly and disappeared.

Kylo slumped into a chair and covered his eyes with the palm of his hand...

_He was heavily walking up the tilting surface of the cruiser, holding the activated saber in his hand. The battle around hasn't been settling - it was one of the countless battles in which he constantly took part, no fresh news. The sky above his head was swarming with TIE fighters and X-wings, fiercely firing at each other. It seemed that the air itself was burning, and his throat was more and more sore and scorched with each breath. But Kylo had been stubbornly going forward, ignoring the laser shots that threatened to make an extra hole in him and flying debris that could easily blow off his head. He walked towards his enemy, where else?_

_He froze when he saw Rey through the smoke. She was standing at the edge of the deck, also armed with a live lightsaber. He nervously jerked his cape from his shoulders and took a fighting stance, straddling his long legs. To scare her more he threw the saber from one hand to the other a couple of times. The voltage in the hilt surged accidentally and the laser cried out like a broken string. The girl looked at him with a gaze full of righteous anger and without a shadow of fear. With all her appearance she symbolized the power of the Light side, ready to repel him._

“ _I'll destroy you! Fraud!!! I'll send you back to where you came from! IN NOTHINGNESS!!!” Kylo shouted in rage, foretasting the pleasure with which he will now fulfill the promise that he gave to Luke Skywalker during their last "encounter"._

“ _Go ahead, monster!” Rey answered loudly. However she didn't lose her composure and raised her voice only so Ren could hear her in the surrounding noise._

_Kylo began to move slowly, lowing his furiously sparkling sword. It ripped open the deck plating, leaving behind a trench of molten metal glowing with orange flame. Then Ren abruptly took off running, raising his hands above his head. A leather-clad merciless live killing machine with black flowing hair resembling predator's mane. A pile of battle-trained muscles and a mouth contorted with rage. He was like a meteor under action of gravity accelerating every moment. A collision with him could only result in death. He could've scared anyone. But not this girl, who stood like a candle in the wind, so small, but so unyielding._

_Coming closer Kylo heavily brought down the laser blade on Rey, wanting to chop her in half, but she was able to parry the blow. A fountain of sparks burst at the touch of two lightsabers. Kylo had to take a step back to swing again. He delivered another powerful blow, but the blade was beat off again. Rey held off his attacks one after the other, until they melted in combat, and their faces drew near, alighted with red and blue sabers. Their eyes were almost at the same level - her height was compensated by the heel of the cruiser. Rey didn’t look away even when she saw a stream of blackest hatred that was pouring down on her from Kylo’s gaze. They were so close that he noticed freckles on the girl's cheeks and by the edge of his consciousness felt the warmth of her body. And then…_

_The thundering battle around them has ceased to exist. The flashes of fighting ships faded somewhere beyond the peripheral vision. All sounds died down as if turned off suddenly. Ren could only hear his own gasping breath and the crackle of lasers merged into each other._

“ _No one's ever really gone,” Rey said with a soft smile and Kylo realized that they weren't carrying any swords, both of them just stood there._

_Looking down he saw that actually instead of a sword he was holding girl's hands – her small palms rested in his broad ones. There were no gloves on him because he could feel the warmth of her skin and even the pads of her fingers callused in Jedi practicing with chipped shortcut nails. For that matter not only his hands were naked, because suddenly he distinctly felt Rey's palm brushing his bare shoulder as she put her arm around Kylo's neck which sent chills down his spine. A spasm grew somewhere in his solar plexus, as if a shock wave or the Force lightning had hit him. But there was no pain, only not enough air and his head started to spin._

_The girl was also undressed. Kylo suddenly saw her neat tits with swollen nipples and smooth stomach though everything down her waist was enveloped in the hot pink cloud. She took his hand and pressed it to one of her breasts. Gulping down a staggering sob Kylo realized that it was both soft and firm._

“ _No one disappears without a trace,” the girl uttered cryptically, parted her lips and gently pulled Ren closer._

_Kylo understood how badly he needed that touch and was more than ready to dissolve in it. Actually he was just going crazy with impatience not to kill her but to kiss. He felt a languishing stirring in his loins when the girl began to stroke him down in the acid pink haze expertly using her hands and the Force. He was being literally seduced by the Light and reluctantly his dick hardened. He was eagerly caressing Rey's naked body that a moment ago he wanted to destroy without a pity, he was playing with her nipples while she started to stroke him faster and more persistently. Finally Ren stiffened all over, a vein in his neck swelled so that a rushing pulse became visible. Then he let out a humble moan and came, jerking off into the invisible hand..._

_All this time the girl was looking straight at Kylo with a forbearing smile and some kind of affectionate concern. He licked his dry lips and reached out to kiss Rey at last when suddenly he saw a strange reddish glow in her eyes. Right after that a net of ugly wrinkles appeared on her young fresh skin. Her familiar serene face became distorted and grew old. Even her eyes were touched by the aging. Moment later Kylo realized that he was holding a disgusting monster in a sagging hide, whose features were constantly changing. First it became Luke Skywalker, then Han Solo, than his mother appeared. Finally it morphed into some unknown old man who suddenly said in a creaky voice from the mysterious hologram:_

“ _Do not waste your time killing, my young padawan, copulate... Find your enemy, get to know it, do it, stuff with your seed and raise your children!.. Thus you will conquer the Light, become immortal and achieve power. Peace is a lie! Love is an illusion! Surrender to passion and lust! Indulge your desires and whims!..”_

_Kylo couldn't stand it anymore. He swallowed his horror, which was more and more inspired by the touches of the monster Rey grew into, and pushed him away with all his might. This sudden movement woke him up._

Ren lay in bed in the semi-darkness of his sleeper cab, breathing as though he had just stepped out of the training unit. His half-naked body was covered with sticky cold sweat. The damp hair clung to his forehead and neck, the pillow under his head was completely wet. He sat up quickly, threw back the covers and confusedly found a dark stain on his trousers.

The climax that he'd dreamed of turned out to be very real. The pleasant languishing between his legs was the proof of that. He frowned, got out of bed and took off his filthy clothes. To hide his unwitting sin he trashed his trousers, thinking miserably that if this keeps up the entire textile industry of the First Order would operate only to meet his needs. Trying not to remember the details of the dream, and especially how attractive Rey's lips and nipples were, he headed for the fresher, muttering "It'll never be..."

Standing under the cool streams in the shower Kylo heard a comlink in the loudspeaker mode.

“Supreme Leader, permission to speak,” Armitage Hux said meekly.

“Listening,” Ren replied trying his best to erase the embarrassment from his voice.

“I would like to start the interrogations today. I was hoping you'll join us. The procedure will be hundred-per-cent effective with your presence,” Hux applied.

“Yes, I'll be there for sure,” Ren said shortly.

On official engineering layouts of the Finalizer the Section number AD1911 was assigned with the status of the interrogation compartment. But Ren knew that around each other the stormtroopers reverently called it the Confessional Room. Although Hux's soldiers were reputed to be the people with the scarcest supply of imagination in the whole inhabited Galaxy, even they experienced panic if they had to go on watch in 1911, especially when the Supreme Leader was involved in “work” with the prisoners. These were the same soldiers that in other times gladly used an electric shock, a bone crusher, and intoxicating opioids to crack the unfortunate Order captives.

And now with his arrival everyone diligently put on the semblance of frenzied activity, although Ren was sure that before he stepped into the room they were most likely idling around. The conversation that Hux was having with the protocol officer hang in midair, the relaxed look of the man that was chained into the interrogation module gave way to the fearful alertness. Apparently when he looked at the Supreme Leader he understood that Ren, dressed head-to-toe in black leather, with a lightsaber at his belt and a grim expression on the face, wasn't likely to become his deliverer. The antigravitational field that Kylo was evolving unconsciously around himself affected equally his friends and his follies. At a first glimpse at his lanky broad-shouldered figure, and above all, in his shady eyes that were constantly changing the degree of their blackness, anyone sensed danger.

Hux immediately ran up to Kylo, saluted briefly and reported, pointing at the man in magnacuffs:

“That one was caught in the Bronsoon system during Operation Force Searcher. He refused to participate in the blood testing, and used the Force abilities during arrest.”

Kylo frowned and peered at the prisoner who looked like a completely ordinary person, in the shabby, oily rags. Most likely he was a technician in a starport of some remote planet. And suddenly he was the Force-user?.. But then Ren carefully thought about Hux's words once again.

“So you think that this is a rather inconspicuous title, General? Force Searcher?.. If you'll “force” it like that, our intentions will stop being a secret to the enemy,” Ren said, throwing a malicious glance at Hux.

“Let me assure you, the search is already performed by both sides. Sooner or later… this technology will become…” Armitage started to defend himself, while his fingers, clutched behind his back, has started shaking.

“What about the level?” not bothering to listen to his excuses, Ren asked again, rolling his eyes irritably.

Kylo had to put up with fools around him, if only for the sake of the fact that their innermost thoughts were an open book to him. But then he had been reluctantly surprised by the Armitage's fervor. Instead of answering, Hux simply handed him a small iron cylinder with an oval screen in the upper plane. No runes, no mambo-jumbo, as Han Solo called it, when he was making a paternal fun of his son's excessive fascination with the Force. He had to pay a very high price for his jokes...

“Try it, my lord,” Hux suggested, filled with false modesty. “Press it to his hand, not necessarily into a vein... Any part of the exposed skin will suffice.”

Kylo pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth and, without hesitation, poked the cylinder into his own palm, immediately feeling a perceptible injection, although completely devoid of pain. He guessed that the analgesic was apparently injected into the skin through a needle that took a blood sample. Hux didn't expect such self-sacrifice from his leader and tried to object, but then suddenly noticed the number that appeared on the screen and checked himself.

The data was the same to the last digit. Ren silently appreciated the techs' work - the process was now almost perfect, fast, accurate and efficient. Were he Ben Solo, he would pat Armitage on the back, maybe even shake his hand. But Kylo had never so much as thought to encourage the General with a praise.

“Is this thing single-used?” Ren asked Hux, who seemed dumbfounded without any paralyzing Force passes.

“Single-used?.. What?.. No! The reset button is on the other side… After proper cleansing it will be ready for another test, ”Hux replied, looking at Ren with a strange gaze.

“I don’t think it’s really necessary,” Kylo said casually and stepped up to the prisoner.

They looked at each other for a few moments - Ren with impassive contemplation, the man in chains with growing concern. Kylo thrust the device into the prisoner's neck without any warning. Not knowing what's going to happen the man jerked and blew heavily from his nostrils. Then Ren stared at the screen without care. He wasn't expecting much and it said 256. He chuckled and handed the device back to Armitage.

“What abilities did he demonstrate?” Kylo asked.

“He was... moving objects presumably with his thought, Supreme Leader,” Hux said in a somewhat entranced voice, glancing on the screen. “He snatched a blaster from one of ours and shot several stormtroopers before they overcame him...”

“Is there any reason to consider him being close to the Resistance?” Ren asked again.

"My lord, I'd never..." the man suddenly spoke, but Ren clenched his hand into a fist, and the prisoner's lips stuck together, as if glued up. In a bewildered horror he tried to understand what was happening to him, stretching his facial muscles in vain, but couldn't open his mouth.

“There is no such information, sir, it is doubtful,” answered Hux, now having a clear picture what would be the future fate of the interrogated.

“I don't think we need him anymore, General. Both as a source of information and as the Force-user he is completely useless. Besides he committed the high treason by attacking the armed forces of the First Order,” Kylo said as if convincing Hux, who didn't even think to argue. He hadn't noticed the physical and mental torments of the prisoner.

Ren didn't have to repeat twice, the General silently gestured to the guards for the captive to be taken away.

“The instruction No.503,” he said dryly to the protocol officer, who was sitting at the computer.

“Sir, yes sir,” the officer answered decently and pressed several buttons.

Few seconds later the interrogation module was empty, while the noisy footsteps of the stormtroopers, that were dragging the fainted prisoner, quietened in the corridor.

"Do you have anyone else for me, General?" Kylo asked almost sarcastically. “Anyone scary enough for you to require my assistance?..”

Hux had to swallow yet another taunt that he was constantly enduring from Kylo in front of his own personnel, and bent over the monitor, trying to focus on something.

“Yes, my lord... I reported to you earlier,” he said, stalling for time - the name of the next interviewee still didn't appear on the screen.

“Oh, is that the one who, you think, is close to the Resistance leadership?” Kylo drawled out as if tired, putting his glove on once again.

And he was tired, bored with everything that was going on to the bone. Hux screwed up again. However Ren's expectations never were too high when it came to this timeserver.

“In fact yes. The source is quite reliable. We kept an eye on him for a while, following his activities. He was captured while buying a bulk of laser cannons, those that can be installed on X-wings...” Hux threw a quick glance at the Supreme Leader and realized that it was impossible to delay any further. “It seems that...his name is... Joe Cameron?..”

The General had to back away with surprise when Kylo suddenly turned to him. Ren was so quick that his leather belt squeaked. The drowsy indifference on his face was instantly changed with angry bewilderment. All of Hux's recent accomplishments vanished into thin air. As soon as his starship ignited its engines, it immediately crashed into an asteroid, split in half, and then burned down.

“Do you mean Poe Dameron, you moron?!“ he yelled at the frightened Hux, ready to embark on a grisly rampage. “And you’re wasting my time interrogating useless rabble while Poe Dameron chills out in the prison cell the deck below?!”

“I had suspicions about the importance of this captive, but… the Force-users seemed to be of the highest priority,” Hux said quickly, milking the moment until Ren's hysterical fit was about to fall out.

“You had what? Suspicions?!” Kylo hissed with a cold threat in his voice. “You are a fucking idiot, Hux, and this is not a suspicion but a precise diagnosis!” Ren growled mockingly. “What about that didn't you understand? Get him here right away!” he shouted so loudly that the partitions in the room shuddered, while Armitage, who has been chocked by Ren almost reflexively, writhed on the floor gasping for air.

Despite the pretense of control Ren was extremely agitated, as if he was going to meet with an old close acquaintance. One thought that Poe Dameron was in the inner circle of his mother and ultimately of the damned Jakku scavenger who imagined herself to be a great Jedi, quickened Kylo's heartbeat. His muscles turned into painful knots. He feverishly wanted to come up with something to say. He wanted to know what to do. But he didn't have a clear plan and, realizing his own impotence, Ren's been longing to smash something to smithereens while instead he had to put a straight face. Showing his true feelings right now would be the wrong strategy.

He could try to impose his will on Dameron and let him go. To end with Rey by the hands of her "friend" would be an incredible luck! But, unfortunately, the ability of mind control at such a long distance was known to Ren only in theory. When he was about to start studying this topic more closely under the guidance of his uncle, Kylo decided to close all blasted thing down. What was more, his own skin and sound sense were dear to him. Mind illusions maintained across the stars, at best, could damage its creator's brain, at worst, result in a complete loss of vital functions forever. However when it happened to Luke Skywalker, it actually was the best scenario for Ren.

He could get into Dameron's head and run through his memories to find out where the Resistance was now based. Once Kylo had already succeeded in this. Not particularly intelligent consciousness of the rebel pilot was an easy object for him. Moreover doing this Ren could combine business with pleasure. Such a "walk" could cause Dameron a heartache and the moral anguish, forcing him to suffer all the failures that have happened in his life, everything what he did wrong or did not do at all, when it was necessary.

His actions could plunge Dameron into panic, unbalance him for a while or perhaps even permanently drive him crazy. The result would be, on a wider scale, not bad, but not ideal. Yes, Ren wanted a payback so much. To torture Poe and destroy him without delay. But he had to use the pilot more rationally. Destroy Rey through him. Kylo just had to figure out how. That would be the right strategy.

Still he had something in store...

When Dameron was finally brought in, Kylo realized that in fact his subordinates didn't let him “chill” or take things easy. Ren stood in the far corner of the room in the apparent semi-darkness. Besides he was dressed in black which allowed him to blend into the nearby wall. He could freely examine the prisoner before he became visible himself.

From the way Dameron looked around, squinting at the bright light, it was clear that he was being held in the dark. The pilot's jacket had laser burns. One eye was almost completely swollen. There was a cut on his upper lip and scratches on his knuckles already turning brown. Undoubtedly the pilot pulled off a dogfight with the stormtroopers. Two symmetrical bruises on his temples indicated that he had already experienced the electric shock. Now in the Dameron's blinded gaze little was left of his usual bravado and his tread had lost its former springiness. He had little hopes and was rather exhausted.

Hux had already gotten over the last reprimand from the Supreme Leader. Only the whites of his eyes were slightly reddened from recent asphyxiation experience. He nodded to the guards to fasten the pilot in the interrogation module and approached him, frowning his bushy red brows and putting on a menacing look.

“Poe Dameron?” he asked sternly stopping a footstep away from the prisoner.

The pilot, who was trying to focus on the General, immediately rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

“Oh, that's just fine... They didn't tell you? I've already introduced myself to a private number one, a private number two, and a private number three,” Poe clumsily rubbed the bruises on his shackled hands. “Listen, is it really that bad with the reporting here? I will confirm my name, if necessary, again, in exchange for my blaster. It's like a middle of a shitstorm here, the ship is full of morons. I don't wanna be fucked up by a stray laser.”

Then Dameron pretended that he had finally recognized the person who was standing in front of him and shook his head, heavily sighing, “Oh, it's you, Hugs ... Well then, it looks pretty obvious...”

“Shut up! Speak when you're spoken to!” shouted Hux, truly irritated.

“You should decide, Hugs, what you want from me. Am I to be silent or should I speak? I am always ready to chat. What's up? Want a recipe against rabies?” Dameron chuckled, grimacing slightly when with the smile a pain pierced his damaged lip.

“Poe Dameron,” the General began again, with steel in his voice, “you were captured doing a commercial transaction to supply offensive weapons to the rebels. This is a capital crime against the First Order, it is punished by death. You will be thrown out into the open space! Do you have something to say in your defense?.. Who is supposed to transfer the shipment? What is the destination?”

“Well, you can nail it, when you want to... Your source is correct,” Poe responded wearily and added seriously, “If you hope that I will crack, then you are mistaken. Here I'll keep my silence, with your permission, Hugs. The dealer turned out to be your bitch, try to ask him. Scrape him off the wall, there should have been something left, and get it out of him...”

“Enough,” Kylo said stepping out of his hiding place and looking Dameron straight in the eye.

And he experienced almost sensual delight when he saw there the undisguised terror, even if only for a moment. Poe clearly didn't expect to see him. Change in his demeanor hadn't escaped Hux either.

“We know how difficult it is to get valuable intelligent data from the hardened criminals like you, but we have methods that can loose tongues,” Armitage said with a carnivorous smile and stepped aside making way to the Supreme Leader.

“Thank you, General, for the flattering introduction. But I think pilot Dameron knows all about our… methods firsthand,” Ren smiled but then barked shortly: “Get out! All of you!”

Without even looking at Hux Kylo felt the abyss of anger and contempt that was now looking at him from the eyes of his General. However he didn't want to be the torture instrument in the hands of this commanding idiot. This time he had a different plan, he needed to stay with Dameron in private. Everyone knew that the Supreme Leader wouldn't order twice, and within a minute the room emptied.

Kylo closed the hatch with the Force pass, then, without even looking, threw a mild shock towards the recorder of the computer where the protocol officer had been sitting previously. The camera shuddered and puffed with gray smoke. Poe had been following his actions with growing alarm and when Ren suddenly came closer to him, tried to back away. But the shackles of the module didn't allow him to move. Kylo looked straight into Dameron's eyes.

“Where is your bonnet, Ben, dear?” Poe suddenly asked never able to keep his mouth shut and gulped noisily with his dry throat. “Aren't you afraid to catch a cold? Terrible drafts here, imperial vermin in every crack. Aren't you afraid of your mommy?”

“Trying to joke? Good, humor prolongs life,” Kylo smiled calmly puzzling Dameron more. “However... there's no one with that name... By the way how is she?” he asked, and noticing the pilot's quizzical look, explained “My mother?”

“Alive and healthy, despite your best efforts, murderer,” Dameron hissed, “and ready to give you such a good spanking that you won't never forget. Right in your naked villainous whoppers. Then she will put you in the corner on your bare knees, right on the radioactive sand from the Desert Planet...”

Kylo sighed and chuckled.

“That's a... little graphic, but thank you. No doubt everything would've been be just like that only under more favorable circumstances. Now is not the best time for that. The First Order is building up its military power. Hux is completely obsessed with the arms race. Sometimes even I feel like a hostage of this maniac,” he added lowing his voice, as if a thought slipped off his tongue. “It seems to me that he holds me for a freak. I had to get rid of the mask. It had a narrow field of vision, I wasn't able to see the entire picture.”

“Listen, I've no desire to keep your pep talks,” the pilot frowned, becoming more and more confused. “Do what you're used to and get it over with. But let me warn you, that time there are no coordinates in my head. I took care of this. I prepared. No idea where the base and the command are. We were having tactical differences and had to part ways for a while. I am here... doing my own thing... alone... I don't mind telling you, I was really interested in guns. But the shipment would've been moved up the supply chain. And I don't know anyone. You and Hux will have to find them first, without me.”

As he was speaking, Kylo managed to cope with the sudden rush of anger. When he answered to Poe, his voice was calm and he never broke eye contact with the pilot, not for a second.

“But I didn't intend to... dig into your thoughts,” he said, tilting his head to one side. “It really hurts when your enemies think of you as of such a biased treacherous... monster...”

Dameron frowned, looked closely at Ren and asked:

“Then what do you need me for?”

“How's... R-rrey?” Kylo asked suddenly, slightly choking on her name, and was again rewarded with Poe's anxious look.

“What do you give a shit? There are people who will take care of her.”

“FN.. 2187...” Ren said affirmatively, remembering the personal number of the treasonous stormtrooper, as if it had surfaced in front of him on the computer screen.

“There's no one with that name,” Poe repeated Kylo's words, mocking him. “His name is Finn, he is my friend and he is a friend of Rey, and he just so wish to kick your ass.”

Ren didn't want to speculate on that topic, and he asked:

"Does she... remember my proposal? Does she talk about it?"

“Proposal?.. I don't know anything about your shitty proposals... You won't get to her, it's a non-starter, you half-assed Sith!” Dameron replied sharply.

Only the thick leather of his gloves saved Ren's palms from cuts by his own fingernails, so tightly he clenched his fists at that moment. It had costed him a lot of effort to restrain himself, but he withstood and continued to look pensively into the eyes of the emboldened pilot.

“I would like to convince you and her,” Kylo could not pronounce "Rey" again, “of my good intentions... This war will destroy the Galaxy. Together we could bring the peace but it requires a strong hand and a righteous heart. I offer my hand, she, and... my mother... could've become the heart...”

Dameron chuckled and said:

“What kind of bantha shit are you talking about?! Do you really believe in this?!”

At this moment Kylo turned away from Poe and covered his eyes with his hand, which was shaking quite a bit. Most of his muscles were cramped, he even had to sit in the chair of the protocol officer. With the same trembling hand Kylo took a comlink from his pocket and, pressing the call button, ordered:

“Hux, I'm... done... Return the prisoner to his cell, and do nothing without reporting to me.”

“Affirmative, Supreme Leader,” the transmitter replied stiffly.

“Prepare my ship, move it to the central dock. And the landing craft with the stormtroopers company,” Ren added.

“The purpose and the direction of the mission?” Hux clarified following the procedure.

“The pilot doesn't act alone. There is a chance to catch his accomplices.”

“Copy that,” Hux rapped out and switched off.

“Of course there's always a chance...” Poe said with a grin, unable to believe that he escaped Kylo Ren's interrogation room safe and sound. Well, almost...


	3. The Rescuer in Pink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo is still transforming in TFA and TLJ. He’s still trying to figure out who he is and what part he will play. He is a villain who is unpredictable and unstable - in Episode VII he hesitates killing Han Solo and is blinded by his emotions during his fight with Rey at the Starkiller Base. In TLJ it is clear that his father's death made him even more unbalanced.
> 
> Kylo kills the Supreme Leader Snoke only to take up the leadership of the First Order himself. We gradually discover that he is voracious, selfish and ambitious; he has no interest in redemption and sees Rey as a powerful ally that can assist him in ruling of the Galaxy. By killing Snoke and taking his place Kylo does something that Darth Vader would never have done.
> 
> Even though Kylo spends a lot of time wearing his helmet, his hair seems impervious to the headgear. His luscious locks are voluminous and shiny whenever he whip off his helmet, even if he’s been running around, doing Snoke’s bidding and waving a lightsaber. Based on behind-the-scene footage, Adam Driver actually has his hair braided underneath the helmet to help keep his hair out of the way. In-universe though it’s nice to imagine him meticulously caring for his hair to preserve the image that he projects, just like grandpa. After all, let’s be real: Vader’s cape flaps around in the vacuum of space, which means he must be using the Force for dramatic effect. (Screenrant) ©

“I don’t wanna be a part of this. _Here is where I leave them_ ,” Manyara muttered under her breath again and cautiously peered around the corner. It seemed like an eternity had passed since she stepped out of her squad compartment and started stealing her way to the evac shuttles.

In order to save the energy and to mark the day-night biorhythm in the outer space, the vehicular lightning at this hour had been reduced to 25 per cent which came in handy. At the slightest rustle the girl squeezed in dark niches or behind the technical partitions. Thanks to her functional title on the Finalizer she knew almost every hiding place on the ship, backwards and forwards. The corridors were empty. The night shift had only been preparing to take posts. But it would’ve been reckless to relax her guard. Slightly grimacing, Manyara straightened up her heavy backpack, that had crashed into her shoulders under its substantial weight, and crept out of the cover.

However making a few cautious steps forward she stopped short and listened intently. Somewhere nearby she suddenly heard the sounds of binary - two droids were rapidly approaching the place where Manyara was standing. To be registered on their holocams was the last thing that she needed right now! Manyara tossed about the corridor while all useful information slipped out of her head with fear. The walls around her, now of all times, were completely devoid of cavities save for the hatch behind her back, leading to some cab.

The girl knew that without the opening code she could hardly get inside. It was pointless to hope that the universal combination, that stormtroopers and techs on the lower decks hac been using for moving around the units, would be active here, but it worthed a try. It was the only way to avoid the droids. Manyara stepped up to the lock and punched in a digital code. The hatch didn’t move. The girl leaned against it, desperately trying to blend with its smooth metal surface. Something hard in the depth of her backpack painfully drove into her ribs. Loudly talking droids were getting closer and closer with each moment.

Then abruptly the door slid to the side, and Manyara, having lost her footing, heavily tumbled to the floor. Sprawling face up, she quickly looked around the cab and noticed an emaciated man on a folding iron bunk in the corner. He was staring at her with genuine interest. Obviously the girl wandered in that part of the cruiser where the detainees were kept. What’s more, she decided to break into one of the prison cells! She entered quite easily but it would take more effort to escape. Electronic locks of such cabs opened only from the outside but not from the inside. Manyara had to act very quickly to figure out how to close the hatch so as not to be accessible to the robots’ sensors but to be able to leave the cell when they'll be gone.

“Give me something to block the door!” she exclaimed, jumping up, trying not to be too loud. “Come on!”

Emerging from the stupefaction, that gripped him after her sudden appearance at his threshold, he bent down, picked up one of his boots and threw it to Manyara. The iron-coated sole blocked the hatch, leaving barely perceptible opening. They listened transfixed as the squeaks and whistles approached and then gradually subsided down the hallway.

“Please don’t say that you need a pilot,” the man said in a condescending whisper, smiling for some reason.

“What?” she asked absentmindedly, still listening to the sounds of the retreating droids. “No, I don't need a pilot... Why?”

The man chuckled and looked searchingly at Manyara. Embarrassed she turned away and shook her head so that her long black fringe had covered her face. She imagined what he saw in front of him right now. A young Zeltron girl with the skin as pink and as beautiful as the flags of the everlasting holiday of her native planet. Maybe a little taller and more broad-shouldered than ordinary members of her race, that is why Manyara was called into the engineering troops of the Order. A little shy for the girl from Zeltros, she was teared away from her culture, which she considered almost mythic, when her grandfather left the planet for the Empire military service. Her old black uniform was worn out from crawling in the ship’s holds and burned by the welding. And it had the Order insignia on the chest. She instinctively had been trying to hide behind her back her rather big hands with long strong fingers. She was often uncomfortable in her body, and that could be seen with half an eye.

“Aren't you going to escape this junk?” asked the man, finishing with the inspection, and pointed at her backpack. “You know, I have a special kind of luck, constantly being rescued by the Order’s flyaways. No offense! Didn’t want to hurt your feelings. Actually I owe them a lot,” he grinned.

“Y-yes…” Manyara nodded distractedly, feeling no need to deny. “I am. On a lifepod. We are in the familiar system. Going to get to the nearest planet and get lost at a spaceport.”

“In such a rush?” the man asked. “At night? Why?”

Manyara knitted her eyebrows, with all her attitude offering him to guess for himself.

"New regulation. And I can't get caught,” she explained, and pointing at the boot with her finger, she lifted it and returned to its owner with one mental will, leaving the hatch open.

The man whistled and smiled broadly. He immediately walked over to her and held out his hand.

“Poe Dameron, the Resistance pilot. Delighted to meet you! I am always been lucky with you Order deserters, and the Order's been unlucky with..?" he looked at her, expecting that she would now introduce herself.

“Manyara,” she said uncertainly and guardedly took his hand in her's, shaking it, "Third class technician."

"...with the third-class technicians," the man finished laughing.

"The Resistance?" the girl inquired doubtfully. “No, I don’t think there is anything left of them... The crew guys have been saying that the supporters of the Republic were crushed,” she said and, squinting her eyes inquisitively, watched out for his reaction.

"And what have your spicepots of the crew guys been saying about the military actions?" Poe asked with a crooked smile.

“That the First Order is just doing preventive clean-ups,” Manyara replied.

"This won't be worth bantha fodder!" Poe burst. "So why do you think the Order is looking for the Force-users then? They don't want them to fall to our side of course!"

"Force-users?.. Is that what you call these... people? Like... me?.." Manyara asked with ill-concealed confused curiosity - among her colleagues she had been always ashamed of her unnatural abilities.

"Oooh," Poe again softened and brightened up. “You just have no idea how lucky you are that you broke into my cell. I can introduce you to my friends who know all about this. They will help you. And they're absolutely reliable. The Resistance is gathering all the Force-users of the Galaxy. It's definitely not determined to... regulate them."

The girl still looked at him with doubts.

"I wouldn't want to add treason to my... like you call it... desertion... I think I have a better chance of surviving if I'd stay alone. The Resistance gathers the Force-users for a reason, does it not?” she said, shaking her head. "To fight in a war, right?"

Dameron looked a little disappointed and even offended, he clearly didn't understand how anyone could question these things.

"A war is a war," he suddenly became serious, "sooner or later you'll have to choose your side, no matter what asshole of the Galaxy you'd hide in. I'm giving you the opportunity to make the right choice."

"Choose a side... Make a choice..." the girl repeated thoughtfully, looking at the man, and then stood up impulsively. It was time to get out before someone saw an open prison cell and started the alarm. “One way or another, two won't fit in the evac pod."

At these words she was again rewarded with the pilot's dazzling smile:

“I have a better idea. We just need to get into the central dock."

The girl stared at Poe, half surprised and half amused.

“Central dock?.. Pilot Poe Dameron, are you nuts? Even if we reach it unnoticed, it is guarded around the clock. What do you want to find there?"

“Kylo Ren's ship, of course. As far as I know, it's being prepared for tomorrow's flight," the pilot answered persuasively. "Primary source data."

Manyara immediately gave him an attentive look, like he was a crazy and a hero, a look with pity and a little respect. And there was something else in her eyes, as if she anticipated that Poe would propose just that.

“You throw your axe too far, you won't be able to get it back... Better strip naked and jump into outer space,” she grinned. “The Silencer of the Supreme Leader is impossible to hijack."

“You wasted so much time turning screws on this old tub,” Poe shook his head. "Impossible is my middle name. On that TIE we can immediately dive into hyperspace, a couple of turns and our trail will go cold,” he exclaimed passionately.

“This is a shitty plan, pilot Poe Dameron,” she snorted. "Or "shitty plan" is your middle middle name?.."

“I give you my word that we'll not die today,” the man held out his hand to her again. "Make up your mind!"

Manyara was still wondering whether to trust this rebel, whose appearance dished her own plan, truth be told, also pretty shitty. She could have left him to get off the ship by himself. But deep down she knew that the pilot would come in useful. His offer to put her in touch with the people like her was very tempting.

"Can you really bring us to the Resistance? To the Force... users?" she asked. "Do you know the data for the navicomputer? We'll have to beat the pursuit. The Supreme Leader's TIE-fighter is not a lifepod, you wouldn't be able to hide it from the tracking systems in the space debris, is that clear?!"

"Of course, well..." Dameron hesitated, rubbing his chin covered with the stubble. "I don't know the end-point coordinates right now, but I know the transfer point. Loyal people, a safe haven, where we can change our transport on a less suspicious-looking starship."

“Alright, pilot Poe Dameron, we have our deal,” Manyara shook his outstretched hand. "There's a turbolift not far from here, we'll get there, and that's half of the way already. Follow me closely. And don't put your shoes on. If you make the least bit of noise, we're doomed! One step in those iron boots of yours could destroy us."

“Still it was my boot that saved us,” he winked at her.

At first they were lucky. There was not a soul down the corridor and in the turbolift. But as soon as they, bending twofold and moving in short bursts, crept up to the central dock, they had to be more careful. In the hall near the TIE-fighter, burned by laser cannons, techs had been scurried about under the watchful guard of several stormtroopers with their weapons ready. Ren's starship, polished to a shine, bristling with cannons and missile launchers, was docked next to the hangar entrance. To get to it, it was necessary to cross the entire hall without being noticed. Only in this case they had a chance to escape before the soldiers would gather their wits.

Poe dodged behind one of the shell box the hall was filled with, wiped sweat from his forehead and whispered with a puzzled look:

"It won't be as easy as I was featuring it in the cell..."

He shrugged, as if apologizing to Manyara. She frowned and looked around attentively. Even with the activities of the maintenance crew, it was really quiet in the hall. Silence complicated things.

"What did you think, there won't be anyone here? That we would just board the Supreme Leader's starship and go for a ride?" she whispered irritably.

"Kriffing A... Are you, by any chance, equipped with a blaster?" Poe asked, giving her a hesitant smile and glancing at the girl's impressive backpack. “I feel myself naked without a weapon,” and he wiggled the toes on his bare feet.

"Buttons like me are not supposed to carry blasters," replied Manyara. "Why do you think these... bucketheads are here?" she nodded in the direction of the soldiers in white armor.

To put it bluntly she was starting to regret that she had listened to the pilot and agreed to his insane plan. But she had never stopped thinking about how to get to the Silencer. Then she turned sharply to Poe and asked a little sarcastically, looking at him point-blank:

"If we get to the ship, will you at least lift it off the ground?"

"Why is everyone constantly doubting me?!" Dameron stage-whispered, immediately getting hot under the collar. "If I offered you to desert on the starship of the Supreme Leader," he made a haughty grimace when he was pronouncing the title, "I was probably sure that I could pilot it!"

“All right, all right, hothead,” Manyara hushed him, holding out her hands placatingly, and glanced at the disgruntled man, who was cherishingly cradling his boots. "If the flight, that you are talking about, is scheduled for tomorrow, pilot Poe Dameron, I hope the access pole will be unlocked. They will have to conduct preflight preparation."

He nodded in assent, looked around, as if in thought, and began to mutter to himself, registering what he saw.

"If we move along the right side, then we can probably slip through. The crew is on our left. The techs are busy, two in the hold, one at the ladder with the instruments... It's late, the stormtroopers are bored. See, the one that stands closer to us is constantly shifting from one foot to another. I wouldn't be surprised if he's yawned his head off under the helmet. And those two are chatting about something, they have not once looked in this direction. And why should they be on a full alert on the Order cruiser? These three don't know that _I'm here_..." Poe cast a meaningful glance at Manyara and asked suddenly, "By the way, can I help you with the backpack?"

Her load was actually very heavy. The girl had been dragging her baggage since she left her bunk, and its weight became more and more unbearable with every step. But upon hearing his offer she recoiled from Dameron and quickly replied, shaking her head:

"No, thanks. I'll handle it..."

Poe shrugged:

“I just wanted to help,” and he added in a bossy tone: “Come on. Along the wall. And be quite!"

At these words he got up and stealthily went in the direction of the Silencer.

“Be quite yourself,” Manyara retorted and moved after him.

Dameron was right, the stormtroopers weren't really busting asses at their watch, talking animatedly about something with each other, while the technicians were wrapped up in work. But she still had to watch out for them, at the same time trying not to step on the bare heels of the pilot, looming in front of her, or not to crash into him. They somehow managed to go through half the way. They had already caught up with the damaged fighter, when suddenly in the silence of the hangar some loud metallic ringing went off. Most likely one of the techs dropped something heavy on the floor.

The pilot and the girl cowered and froze while the soldiers immediately threw up their blasters and pricked their ears. Two of them ran up to the ship, the third one, sticking out his weapon and turning his helmeted head from right to left, examined the hall, and... saw Manyara, who was intently looking straight at him, as if he sensed her. They were silently staring at each other for a moment. Then the stormtrooper shouted warningly:

"Hey there, who are you?! Don't move or I'll shoot!"

The cry had sobered the girl up, but instead of obeying, she prepared to run. There was no time to talk, two other soldiers had already turned their way. Manyara pushed Dameron, who still was frozen in surprise, and, no longer trying to be silent, exclaimed loudly:

"Move it!!! We've got their attention!"

Poe didn't need a second warning. He got up and ran, clumsily plodding along the smooth, oily floor of the hangar with his bare feet. Manyara rushed after him and not heard, as much as felt the blaster shots that started to pierce the air around them.

"Easy!" warned other stormtrooper, trying to outcry the noise, "Watch out for shot lockers!"

"Go hide in here!" shouted Poe quick-wittingly, and dived behind one of the boxes.

Now that they didn't need to keep their presence a secret, he frantically began to pull on his boots. Manyara got down under the protection of the nearby locker and gingerly peered out from behind it. The soldiers didn't know the plans of the runaways, this was her's and Dameron's advantage. But the stormtroopers were armed and trained to kill. If Manyara and Poe would leave their hideouts, they'll be in trouble. But they had to take that chance.

Manyara left the ammunition pack, where she was hiding, and crawled on her hands and knees towards the Silencer, thinking vexedely, what a funny spectacle she was presenting right now. She was afraid to turn around. The girl didn’t want to come face to face with her death. She could only hope that the pilot, not being a fool, would follow her. After some seconds and several laser shots that ejected sparks and smoke somewhere very close to her head, she heard huffs and puffs of Poe crawling behind her.

“Go, go, go!” he urged. “Come along! Faster! Or they’ll barbecue my butt!”

Suddenly Manyara grew cold with horror. She felt that Dameron, trying to push her forward, familiarly put his hand on her ass. The girl wanted to scream at him, that she is doing her best, and to warn him to keep his meat-hooks to himself. Succumbing to her anger she halted and looked behind... just moment before one of the stormtroopers took aim and pulled the trigger.

In the flicker of a second she realized who he was trying to hit. The girl clenched her jaw and caught the blaster bolt right in the air with her eyes only. It froze, trembled and, changing its direction, dashed into the nearby transformer tower. Manyara ducked her head, dodging from the shock wave. Following the explosion, the power of which was reinforced by the short circuit within the tower, the hangar trembled perceptibly, the stormtroopers fell on the floor, and the air was filled with acrid smoke and the smell of burning wires.

“Go! To the ship!” the girl shouted to the pilot, who collapsed near her.

For sure he noticed, what had just happened, and looked at Manyara with strange concern.

“Hurry up! Until they snap out of it!” she gave Dameron her hand. “I’m sure the back up is not far, with all this ruckus!”

The girl hoped that the soldiers would not dare to shoot at Kylo Ren's TIE-fighter. But now, that the stormtroopers understood their intentions, they were eager to stop the hijackers at any cost. The hail of laserfire became almost unbroken. The Silencer was already a few meters away when Dameron suddenly exclaimed in disappointment:

“Oh no! It's locked!”

Manyara’s anger with the pilot was growing with every minute, as if the whole kriffing escape plan wasn’t his stupid half-baked idea. She jumped to the ship and unmistakably found the panel opening the entrance port. The controls weren’t as simple as on the ordinary TIEs, after all it was the starship of the highest commander of the First Order. But the girl was right when she suggested that it wouldn’t be blocked. Subduing her trembling fingers she tried to open the cockpit. It was difficult to concentrate when new stormtroopers appeared in the hall and Dameron was impatiently jogging her elbow. She succeeded only with the second try. As soon as the mechanism worked, she let Poe take the lead. Not wasting precious time he climbed inside the Silencer.

“You have to help me!” she shouted after him over the roar of the multiplying shots. “I wouldn't be able get inside with this!” Manyara took off the backpack and hesitantly handed it to Dameron. “Be careful!”

“What you got in there?! Plasma grenades or a bucket of bolts? Taking work home?” he exclaimed irritably. “Don’t hunker!”

Poe pulled the backpack into the cockpit, and the girl followed after him, closing the hatch behind her. The sounds of the lasers and soldiers' screams had almost completely ceased, cut off by the soundproof hull of the ship. The control cabin was a bit cramped for two of them, but still, compared to the lifepod, the conditions were quite comfortable. The Silencer also had two undeniable advantages – it had weapons and a hyperdrive. Dameron sat in the pilot's seat, with habitual movements bringing the generators to life. Apparently, he wasn’t all boast when he said that he could take them out of the Finalizer.

“Oh, my darlings,” he said with a satisfied smile, almost lovingly stroking the trigger switches on the handwheel. “I missed you more that you can possibly imagine...”

Manyara watched with dismay as the fresh stormtroopers were rushing into the dock, and reminded Dameron a little heatedly:

"Pilot Poe Dameron, don't you think that we need to get the hell out of here? Put your adorable cannons to good use,” the girl said and pointed to the closed leafs of the airlock.

“With great pleasure! Coming throu-uuugh!” Poe laughed and fired a couple of precise charges.

The stormtroopers didn't have a chance. It was beyond their control to stop the powerful starship. Elegantly flying through the shell hole made by the explosion, Dameron broke away from the Finalizer and, turning on the hyperdrive, went off the radars.

“Weeeee!!!” he shouted triumphantly as soon as they completed the hyperjump and the ship gradually went adrift. If he could now spin in the pilot's seat at 360 degrees, he would definitely do it. But the cockpit of Kylo's TIE could hardly accommodate the two of them. As soon as Poe moved a little he immediately banged against the long legs of Manyara, who was sitting next to him on the floor. He got up and unceremoniously grabbed her in his strong arms, pressing her to his chest so tightly that she got the wind knocked out of her.

“We did it!!! Did it!!! To be honest, I didn’t fully believe that things would work out! Thought I will be living with the spare asshole in my butt, if I'll survive at all. But, look, we got out!!!”

Dameron patted Manyara on the back with tearjerking force, then pulled back a little and burst out laughing. He just beamed with delight, that's why he hadn't noticed her silent confusion. While he was embracing her, she did not try to share his joy or to break the contact just because his hobnobbing took her completely by surprise.

"Oh, you're truly great, girl, you know your stuff. How cleverly you opened that hatch, huh?! We left those stormtroopers to fuck themselves firing a single shot, who would have thought? Am I not lucky with the deserters?" and he went into a laughing fit again, in joyful excitement shaking Manyara by the shoulders.

For a second the light faded before her eyes and her head started spinning. Conflicting emotions overwhelmed her. Embarrassment was one of many, but not the only one. Was it irritation, anger, outrage?.. When the man took pity on her and let Manyara go, she felt a tremendous amount of relief and was able to relax her nervously clenched fists. The girl, perhaps a little more pink than usual, reached for her backpack. She wasn't able to open it from the first try, the fingers didn't want to obey. But at last she fished a water flask from its vast depths and opened it to take a sip.

The smile on Dameron's lips went wane as he stared hungrily at the drink, and the girl had to hand him the flask. He thanked her with a silent glance and began to drink loudly. When he had satisfied his thirst, and apparently, not wanting to take advantage of Manyara's generosity, Poe returned the flask already half empty and slumped into the pilot seat again. He looked like he was about to put his sodding boots on the dashboard, so contended he seemed, the girl thought.

"Though maybe lucky isn't the right word..." Dameron said, relaxing a little, and suddenly looked closely at Manyara, as if something was bothering him, and asked seriously: "Tell me, with a laser there... did you do that?"

Putting the flask back inside her backpack and trying not to meet Poe's gaze, Manyara nodded abruptly, not wanting to attract the unnecessary attention to her abilities as usual.

"It's nothing,” she muttered, nervously tidying her long black fringe, that was blocking her eyes. She tried and failed to come up with an excuse to change the subject. As if it wasn't enough that she saved him, now Dameron was grilling her.

“I've seen something like this before,” Poe said thoughtfully, frowning and remembering something. "The difference is that then I had fired that shot, not was fired at. And it was Kylo Ren who stopped it in the air, just like you did today... I don't know why but I've always believed that no one else can do this except him... Well, seems like the Force had other plans, what can you say?.." he sighed deeply, slapped himself on the knee and smiled again, focusing his penetrating gaze on the girl. “I think I owe you my life."

Judging by his demeanor Dameron was not at all burdened by this circumstance. On the contrary, he was acting as if it suited him. Manyara was afraid that he again would try to hug her or even worse - to kiss. She suddenly noticed how he licked his lips, which were surrounded by the untidy prisoners' bristle. This time she had a narrow escape. He again held out his hand for a handshake, and choosing the lesser evil, the girl gently shook it, again. She started to get infuriated by Dameron's constant desire to make a physical contact with her.

"And if you can actually control all these... shenanigans," the pilot hit her with the big eyes, "that are causing all this fuss around here, I will be able to repay my debt really quickly. I will put in a word for you at the recruiting station. You don't need to go to the front line, you can do the job that you were trained to do. With such skills you won't need a loading droids at all. You'll be fine. I solemnly swear that you'll be the only tech to fix my X," Poe laughed, putting his hand to his heart.

Then he noticed Manyara's strained gaze and, mistakenly thinking that she was frightened, began to calm her down:

"Come on!.. You're safe with us! I can guarantee! I'll vouch for you personally. The word of the best pilot of the Resistance means something!"

“You didn't promise me a word at the recruiting station, you were telling that we will meet with the people like me,” the girl said slowly. "Looks like I'll be turning the screws again, only this time on the Resistance tub, eh? What the best pilot Poe Dameron's word is worth? When you wanted to get out of the cell, your promises were much more generous. You were planing to introduce me to your friends, if my memory serves me right!"

"You saved me, no sweat," Poe said a little embarrassed, "and I'll just turn the deaf ear to these words, although they were hurtful... Please understand that I can't risk everything for one person. I also helped you escape the Order, in case you didn't noticed! What you're asking will take time or..."

“...a good enough reason?" Manyara interrupted. "What if I have the reason. Let's say I posses the information, some knowledge about the secret Order technology, that will be really useful for the Resistance. Maybe then you can bring me to your friends..."

“I don’t understand, a couple of hours ago you just wanted to escape in a lifepod,” Poe exclaimed.

“That was before I was registered on all the cruiser's holocams in the company of a rebel, hijacking the Supreme Leader's starship,” Manyara growled, her lips quivering. “You won't be able to get rid of me so easily."

“Well, if you have something really worthwhile, we can… uh… try,” the man scratched his head.

"Don't push it, Poe, it doesn't suit you. Oh, alright, I get it," Manyara inquired, becoming completely angry, "maybe they kicked you out?! Is that why you don't know the final coordinates?"

“I didn't hear that either!" Dameron cried hastily. “Only because I owe you,” and noticing Manyara's crooked grin, he added, furiously beating his chest. "You're missing the point. I can't put everything at risk to save you alone! I've shitload of disciplinary orders for insubordination on me already! Plus, if you want to get to Rey, it won't be that easy. How the stars do I know in what system the Millennium Falcon is right now. It is constantly on the move, so as not to be detected by the Order. A few people know about the coordinates, and most of them are aboard the ship."

"Rey? The Millennium Falcon?" - asked Manyara with fascination, the rest of the pilot's words went unnoticed.

"Have you been under the asteroid, you and your precious crew guys?.. Although I think, your highhats intentionally keep you in the dark, not to demoralize to the core," Dameron smiled and added with the tone of a person who is speaking to a dumbhead: "This is a freighter of the legendary Han Solo. Do you happen to recognize this name?!" the pilot asked, already knowing the answer.

Manyara frowned and shook her head in silence.

"You're hopeless. And after all this you want me to bring you to my friends?.. Anyways, that's not so important," the pilot said wistfully, waving his hand. “Han Solo died a year ago at the Starkiller Base. Or rather was treacherously murdered by Ren, your new boss, if you please... Congratulations that you've broken out of this savrip nest. And it is a pleasure that I took part in your escape. What other information do you need?" he said. “Luke Skywalker managed to kick Kylo's ass on Crait, and Rey rescued the Resistance, led by the General Organa. They are the heart of our movement, and would their whereabouts be revealed to the Order, we'll lose everything that we've so painstakingly saved."

"I need to meet this Rey. I need to get on the Falcon,” Manyara said stubbornly, looking Dameron in the eye. "Believe me, I'm not coming empty-handed. You wanted me to choose a side, I'm choosing it. And while we jacking around here," she waved in the direction of the frontal viewport - the Silencer was now drifting near some inconspicuous planets, most likely uninhabited, "The Order has already declared a hunt on our heads. And every greedy bastard in the Galaxy considers us living credit chips. Living not for long."

Dameron's face clearly reflected all the brainwork that was going on in his head. He winced as if in pain, rubbed his chin with his palm fiercely, nervously tapped his heel, apparently figuring out what to do. Maybe Manyara should've used the Zeltron's art of persuasion to the full extent, that's how her countrywomen got what they wanted. But she was reluctant to do it by the old ways, seducing the pilot with the help of her female charms. For some reason she thought that this way she would definitely lose his trust. Besides seducing this man would be too big a sacrifice.

“Pilot Poe Dameron, you said something about a transfer point, why can't we go there? We'll not put Rey and... the General Organa at the direct danger..." she proposed finally.

He turned away then looked at the girl again:

"Alright. I'll contact the Falcon and arrange a meeting in the Corellia system. But you should prepare something really valuable for our cause. If shit happens, I'll get the blame, so please do not fail me. I just started to like you."

Then he turned to the control panel and entered the new hyperlane data into the navicomputer. He was busy and didn't saw the expression of exhausted satisfaction on the face of the girl. Manyara sunk to the floor next to his seat, wondering what more _good he would cause her_ , and covered her eyes with her hand.


	4. The Other Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo has the scar because the bacta isn't applied soon enough. Bacta does seem like a magical cure-all in the galaxy far, far away... According to Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, Kylo is able to fully recover from his facial injury because it's sealed with mechnosutures. However, the bacta isn't applied soon enough to prevent scar tissue from forming.
> 
> Emo Vader fanboy jokes aside, Kylo wears his helmet not just because he wanted to be like his grandpa, but also because it conceals his former identity. And he doesn’t simply ask his buds in the First Order to call him by his new name. According to The Dictionary, Snoke specifically orders that Kylo’s birth name must never be spoken. 
> 
> The height of Anakin is 188 cm. After Obi-Wan severs both of his legs on Mustafar, gets prostheses and a full suit of armor that boost his height up to 203 cm. Leia doesn’t seem to inherit the height, standing at 150 cm. Ben is a solid 189 cm taller even than Han (180 cm). His height hasn’t changed since he adopted the new identity of Kylo Ren, despite his major makeover. But what’s to say he’s never been tempted to sneak some insoles to be closer to grandpa? (Screenrant) ©

It would've been difficult to vanish on a busy trade route piloting the Kylo Ren's TIE-fighter. Even far from the main bases of the First Order the danger remained that some stray smuggler or bounty hunter would recognize the Silencer and, in chase of the money, would turn them over to the Order authorities. That is why in the Corellia system Poe decided to land not on the main planet, full of gangsters, but on neutral Tralus, the home of peaceful farmers and miners.

As soon as they approached the small spaceport located on the low mountain ridge, the control center requested their identification. Dameron, hoping for the small-planet incompetence and messing with the identi-beacon, classified the starship, as the Empire-built TIE-fighter upgraded to the executive-class transport for bigass traders, and used a false name identifying himself. He totally failed to mention Manyara.

As soon as they landed, the pilot turned to the girl and said:

“We leave one by one, I’ll go first, then you. Meet me at the local canteen in an hour. We’ll grub something there. I'm hungry like a Kath hound. Could stuff a whole bantha into myself right now. With horns actually, savvy? And we need to find a speeder, to go to the mountains, for a little walk...”

Manyara, still sitting on the floor, looked up at the pilot.

“Where are you going? And why can't I come with you?” she asked and frowned testily.

“I didn’t report you to the administration, didn’t you hear? It would be better for us not to appear in public together. This is in case my trick with fake identification went to the dickens, and they’ve already received the lead from the Order to catch two fugitives,” Dameron explained patiently. “I reckon, we’ll have to leave the TIE here,” he added, as if reasoning with himself, and longingly looking at the dashboard, said: “It’s a bummer. It could’ve served the Resistance, at least with spare parts…”

He stepped over Manyara's long legs and opened the hatch, then turned back to the girl, giving her last quick glance.

 _"Do you have something... a cape, or something you can put on?_ With such… colorful appearance you are very conspicuous,” said Poe, uninhibitedly examining Manyara's skin and throwing a cursory glance on her breasts, putting the girl to blush even pinkier than usual.

He suddenly bent curiously towards her and gently ran his finger along her right cheek.

“Strange... I didn’t notice this before… What is it? A scar?..” Dameron asked warily.

It was difficult to bear with Poe’s fatal ill-breading, however Manyara kept her temper with last strength, looked Poe directly in the eyes and slowly moved his hand away from her face. She rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand - it was just a smudge. Frowning even more, she said, ignoring his questions:

“In an hour, in the canteen. And I’ll find you myself. I still don’t completely believe in your promises, pilot Poe Dameron. Make sure that I don’t become determined in my opinion of you.”

The man shrugged off his puzzlement, nodded silently and jumped in the access hatch, abandoning the ship. As soon as his steps quietened in the distance, Manyara kicked the pilot's seat and banged her fist against the wall with all her might. She needed to get rid of the irritation that was choking her. Since her strength was almost exhausted, her rage didn’t cause much harm. Poe’s idea to eat maybe wasn’t all that bad. But she was in total outrage that he didn’t tell her the rest of the plan and left her alone on the ship amidst the unfamiliar spaceport. All his high speeches about the sides in the war, as well as his sincerity in the desire to help her, seemed blank to Manyara. He still wasn't ready to trust her.

She stood up, holding on to the walls of the cockpit, slightly swaying, and opened her backpack for her flask. The water was tasteless, after Dameron's raid there stayed little of it, but even those few sips helped Manyara subdue the trembling in her knees and stop the dizziness. Catching her distorted reflection in the polished metal of the wall lining, she saw a definite cursed scar snaking across her cheek.

After desperately fumbling in her backpack the girl pulled out a shabby black cloak without any markings and with a spacious hood, thinking that it would fit her just right. In order to avert suspicions from herself completely, she tore off the Order patches from her overalls and threw on the cloak, preparing to leave the Silencer.

The communication system switched on so suddenly that Manyara gave a jolt. First the space voice module kicked in, and she heard monotonous and insistent words:

“Space-force-one, this is Base. Space-force-one, this is Base, do you copy? Space-force-one, can you here me? This is Base.”

After that the TIE holopod initiated the broadcast and on its round disc the image appeared. The projector showed a vague outline of a figure that gradually became clearer. It was a tall man carelessly dressed in a long black trench coat with gold braiding on the sleeves. Next moment the face of the man became visible to the smallest detail. Hux appeared in front of Manyara, the evil red-head himself. Sensing the holopod auto-focus beam on her face, she realized that he also watched her on the other side of the communication session.

“What’s the matter? Are we tuned?.. Do you think, he can see me?” Hux asked someone on his right that stayed invisible to Manyara.

“Affirmative, General. Contact has been made and we are receiving the image,” came the businesslike reply.

Hux squinted doubtfully, as if he was trying to make sure, that his eyes were not deceiving him, and asked, almost screaming:

“Ren, what the kriff are you doing?! What kind of circus you've staged?! What is this stunt?!”

Not a shadow of respect in his voice, the General understood that from where the Supreme Leader was now, his sorcery was unlikely to reach him.

“A company of stormtroopers is dead, thrown into the airless space, a team of technicians is blown to pieces, three TIEs are damaged, two of them - beyond repair, not to mention the fact that you let a dangerous criminal run away! On top of it you aided him and assisted to hijack your own starship! One thing I don’t understand, Ren,” here Hux tapped his forehead with his gloved fist, “what the sarlacc did you hijack your own ship?! What kind of dress-up games you’re up to?”

Kylo's patience, already strained to the limit, threatened to run out, but for the safety reasons he tried not to raise his voice too much.

“Stop yelling, Hux!” he hissed, nervously clenching and stretching his fingers. “Stop this frenzy!”

If the General was around, it would’ve turned for him really badly. But here Ren couldn’t get his hands on Hux and, knowing his own impotence, he exuded invisible Force loops. At some point something rustled in his backpack and a lightsaber suddenly jumped into his clenching hand, ready for action, involuntarily attracted by the anger of its master.

“Would you explain what happened?” Hux exclaimed more quietly, although he still looked pissed off. ”Did you quit? Have you betrayed us? Have you… resigned? It is unheard of for the highest official of the most powerful organization in the Galaxy to suddenly flee with a war criminal and turn against his own subordinates. We are at war after all!”

“Cool your jets,” Ren replied, trying to calm, while his finger was already groping for the trigger on the saber handle. “Reserve your rhetoric for the stormtroopers you’re sending to their doom. I’m still your Supreme Leader, and there is no need to lecture me like a boy. Better think about your own effectiveness in the war that we are at!”

Hux frowned, having no clue, why Kylo had suddenly deflected the blame on him.

“Oh, yes,” Ren sneered. “While all your reconnaissance operations fail one after the other and you are using laser missiles to kill porgs, I have to take matters into my own hands. I managed to gain trust of the Resistance pilot. I just need a little more time before he gives me the location of the Millennium Falcon. Does this designation mean anything to you?” Ren asked with the sullen satisfaction.

Truth be told, he still needed to believe these words himself, before he could convince Hux of their realness. However he still didn't know the exact plans of Poe.

“Are we speaking of the same person?” the General answered with a question pulling a face of contemptuous doubt. “In that case it is impossible!”

A smile touched Kylo's lips.

“Impossible is my middle name, Hux. The Falcon serves the rebels as the mobile headquarters. Allegedly it is piloted by Rey from Jakku, the murderer of the Leader Snoke,” he said acidly, not ceasing to think that he totally believed in his own words.

“But how did you do it?” Hux didn't want to give up. “How could he fall for your story?! What did you promise him? Did he defected?”

“Now **that** is really impossible,” Ren managed an angry grin. “He doesn't know that... it's me. He takes me for...” he hesitated, trying to come up with an answer, and added simply: “...another person.”

“Did you get him drunk?” Hux asked in exasperated bewilderment. “I see only you, though dressed up in some ridiculous...”

“What does it matter, how I did it?!” Kylo couldn't handle it any longer and again switched to a dull beastly growl. “The important thing is that it will bring results! You just have to send a patrol squad and tow my TIE off Tralus before... local crooks tear it apart. But keep low profile, try to avoid your usual arms-rattling! Do not try to interfere with my operation, track me, or, Siths forbid, shadow me, or I'm going to lose my shit! I'll come in contact with you myself, as soon as I need reinforcements.”

Now it was Hux's turn to feel annoyed that he wasn't filled in on the details. He always hated it when Ren started to do whatever was coming into his head. Several times thanks to the Supreme Leader's impulsive “I'll do it myself” they were losing to the enemy. He suspected that Kylo Ren was again applying his magical tricks, which usually did no good to the Order. But the General took a deep breath, and jauntily tugging the lapels of his trench coat, nodded.

“Alright, I'll issue an order to those on duty in the Corellia system,” he agreed. “But Ren…” he hesitated and immediately checked himself, speaking with a little more respect, “My lord, if you tell me about your intentions, I’m sure, it will hasten the success of the operation.”

Kylo realized that it wasn't mere curiosity. Sometimes Hux seemed almost as if he wanted to help him. Perhaps it wasn't just a facade. But most likely he simply couldn't believe in Ren's abilities.

“That'll do! I'll get in touch with you myself!” he repeated stubbornly. “As soon as I will be sure that the Millennium Falcon and his… crew are completely in my power.”

“All alone?! This is mad...” Ren still heard before his fist fell heavily on the holopod. A few more blows and the Silencer lost its communication system for good.

Now, when Poe wasn't here, Kylo didn't need to maintain the illusion. He didn't have to influence pilot's mind incessantly, concealing identity by projecting the image of a Zeltron Manyara, like a camouflage suit, on top of his own. He sensed how the Force started to accumulate within him again, growing and getting stronger, while anger and irritation only nourished it. But the physical hunger that he suddenly felt, also had to be taken care of. Especially if he would have to apply illusion again soon and, possibly, interfere with the minds of several people. That aspect of the Force-power he hadn't practiced since his training with Snoke.

Kylo wrapped himself in a cloak more carefully than a Jawa, hooded his head, hid the sword and left the TIE almost without regret.

He quickly found the canteen. The squat building, similar in shape to the hills surrounding it, was the big draw for everyone in the area. That was a common thing…

Kylo happened to visit such joints when he, as a child, had trailed along behind Han during his so-called “trade talks” while Leia was rebuilding nothing less than the Galactic Republic. Ren still remembered how he usually hid from the adults under the table, nonchalantly sitting on the sticky, spattered floor. He was listening to the calm voice of his father, always so sure of himself, no matter what, and playing with the Jedi action figures, that he'd got from Skywalker on his third birthday. And thought he was... happy?..

In fact such places were all the same, regardless of on what planet and under whose control they were. Already at the entrance the nose was attacked with the sour smell of the fast cooking and pruney alcohol, while some squeaky melody violated the ears. However, now Kylo didn't care, he just wanted to fill his stomach. Actually, he wouldn't mind a bantha too.

He chose the booth farthest from the door, but positioned so that he could see the whole room. After the Togruta waitress brought him the menu, Ren ordered two set-meals, throwing a few credits on the worn table. He thanked her, when she offered him beverage, but refused. If he wanted to intoxicate properly the minds of others, he didn't need to get intoxicated himself.

After two dishes of the steaming nerf kebab, a bowl of hot cakes and a good piece of ryshcate for the dessert, which again reminded Kylo of his childhood in the company of his Corellian daddy, he finally noticed Poe entering the canteen. The pilot was not alone, he was accompanied by a short Sullustan. It was bad. His was the race of traitors, as Snoke described them, when he trained Kylo. They always served in the rebel forces, first against the Empire, now against the Order. But since Ren feared that Dameron would've bring a droid, which electronic brains couldn't be influenced by the Force, he congratulated himself on good luck, preparing to try on the image of Manyara once again.

They made it easier for him when they chose a table hidden from prying eyes in the back of the room, and made it even easier when they ordered whiskey. Making sure that the spirits worked, especially on a non-human, Ren gave them more time while he finished with his food, and then slowly approached. Without removing the hood, he pulled up a chair and sat down, stuffing his backpack under the table.

“It took you more than an hour to get here, pilot Poe Dameron,” Kylo said, almost not feigning his anger, gazing intently into the man's eyes. “Who is your companion? Introduce us?” he asked, now looking at the non-human with the same intensity.

Ren was sure that now both of them saw a pink-skinned Zeltron girl in front of them because none of the men got scared, didn't even twitch. Most likely Poe had warned the Sullustan about Manyara. Before using the illusion on Dameron, he thoroughly studied him in the interrogation cell on the Finalizer, rummaged through his memories unnoticed, applying another Sith trick. However the visit to the thoughts of the Sullustan was impossible. Kylo had to rely on the natural charms of Manyara and cast a spell on him using his female looks.

“This is Bogrus Tuuu,” Dameron said, taking another sip and looking at Kylo over his half-empty glass. Then he spoke with the non-human in his native tongue, which, unfortunately, was unknown to the Supreme Leader.

Most likely, he simply told the Sullustan the name of Ren's false identity, because the non-human raised his right hand greeting him and even tried to smile at Kylo with his scarns. It seemed that the beauty of the Zeltron girl worked up on everyone without exception.

“I've settled the transport,” Dameron said. “Bogrus will take us,” then he looked around and lowered his voice, “to the sector 7D...”

Kylo, who had no idea what sector was that, squeezed out a smile, looked sideways at Tuuu and, addressing Poe directly, whispered with his lips only:

“Do you trust him?”

“We served together in the Third Brigade, wing to wing, in so many battles against the Order,” Dameron whispered in answer with a slight trace of irritation in his voice. “Of course, I trust him!.. We need to get cracking. I heard rumors that the enemy reconnaissance patrol has been spotted in the system. It would be better if we left the planet, go as far away from the TIE as possible. I smell the Order raid."

The impotent anger that Kylo felt at this moment had again cramped his fists. Hux’s actions were amazingly effective when the Supreme Leader needed it least! Ren had to swallow his annoyance and deal with the emotions. If they got the better of him, it would be more difficult to maintain a disguise, because now he had to spread the Force illusion on two people, constantly making sure that both saw the same person in front of them.

“I’m ready, I don’t want to fall into the hands of the Order,” Kylo said, also looking around anxiously, but then suddenly clapped his eyes on his knee.

He felt Dameron's warm hand on his leg before he saw it, and before he realized what was happening. Apparently, the pilot interpreted Kylo's words is his own way, because instead of a lethal Force-user Poe saw an attractive damsel in distress, largely of his making. And Dameron, like a real hero, was ready to come to the rescue and cheer her up.

“I’ll take you to a safe place. I promised you, and I’ll keep my promise,” Poe said affectionately and increasing Kylo’s dismay squeezed his knee even tighter and moved nearer.

Ren didn’t allow such liberties even the medical droids. He hated to be touched, especially by humans, these intimacies rarely produced anything good. The Force around him raged like an open hypermatter core. The lightsaber in his backpack stirred like a creature, endowed with its own free will, preparing for assault. The humans and aliens in the room seemed to sense the invisible pressure of the Force field concentrated by Kylo. Someone laughed hysterically. A rough bickering erupted at the next table. For a moment Ren saw the thoughts of the pilot as in an open book, and he didn’t like Poe’s outright intentions at all. Especially what he wanted to do with the naked body of the Zeltron girl...

The Sullustan saved Poe from the certain death. He nudged him under the elbow and muttered something unintelligible, which immediately made Dameron tense and look around. Two men appeared in the doorway, one in the long robes and other in the Mandalore armor so it was difficult to tell what race they were.

“It’s no good,” Poe muttered under his breath. “I don’t want to meet these rogues. I bet the sons of bitches are spying for the Order,” he spat contemptuously, as if the very mention of the mercenaries was disgusting to his taste. “We cannot use the main entrance.”

They got up and, trying not to attract unwanted attention, went in the direction of the back door, a must-have of those canteens, where owners respected their customers. But their departure didn’t go unnoticed by the strange newcomers as if they knew exactly what they were looking for. Kylo, in order to distract them and more so to cool himself down, because the Force in his fingers required an exit, send a couple of telekinetic waves which created a small commotion in the room.

A shelf with glasses at the bar flew down with clinking and rattling, someone's blaster fired straight from the holster, the Togruta waitress knocked over a heavy tray of plates on someone unfortunate, who immediately howled loudly, burned by the hot stew. Under the cover of that havoc and several barroom brawls the three runaways easy left the canteen. Bogrus Tuuu took them to a speeder, which was parked nearby, and jumped into the driver's seat.

“How much did he drink?” Kylo asked anxiously, sitting down behind him and shoving his backpack under the seat.

“Don't worry, girl,” Poe snapped self-confidently, “Bogrus is an excellent pilot!”

And he wasn’t exaggerating. The Sullustan drove at the suicidal speed, but very skillfully, although the landscape was laced with shallow ravines and packed with stone heaps. Secretly observing the rebels, Kylo thought wistfully that the First Order had nothing similar to set against the Resistance except a large but brainless mass of the stormtroopers. If only they weren't such impossible show-offs like Dameron, the rebels under the leadership of his mother would’ve won long ago.

Bogrus slowed down near some abandoned mine. Poe got out and courtly gave Kylo a hand. He didn’t have time to ignore the gesture and had to lean on Dameron to jump to the ground. Ren desperately missed his gloves. Tuuu stayed in the speeder. He said something to Poe that remained obscure to Ren, smiled at Kylo, still mistaking him for a girl, and, turning the jets, disappeared behind the hill.

But he didn’t manage to go far... A minute later there was a deafening blast, and a cloud of smoke and debris rose into the air. Dameron and Kylo quickly looked up at the sky and immediately spotted two TIE-fighters.

“Bogrus!!!” Poe cried out in despair, but the Sullustan was already beyond help. “Those bastards followed us, they gave us up to the Order!” he shouted, swearing obscenely at the two bounty hunters they met at the bar. ”Here, quick!” he commanded and rushed to some deepening in the hill, apparently, the entrance to the mine shaft.

Ren, silently cursing Hux and his snoops, laboriously raised up his backpack and ran after him. Now more than ever he needed to strangle the General - without any Force-chokes, with his bare hands alone - so that he could feel his pulse stop under his fingers. He and Poe hid in the shaft, but they had been spotted already. Several laser shots hit the space in front of the entrance where the runaways stood just seconds ago. One big explosion somewhere above their heads shook the mountain to the core.

“They’ll bury us here!!!” Poe shouted again. “We need to get out!”

They had to leave the shelter. While the dust, which was raised by the blasts, still settled, Ren and Dameron had a chance to hide in a different place. However some other sound that suddenly joined the roar of the fighters, attracted their attention, and Poe gazed hopefully skyward. When both men saw the Millennium Falcon, dissecting the sky, their emotions were exactly the opposite.

Dameron whooped with joy, while Kylo felt like the ground was crumbling under his feet. This ship, which he desired to board so desperately and so naively, Ren hated more than anything else in the world, endowing it with almost human features. It embodied everything that Kylo would like to uproot from his memory and his life forever, and above all, the weak entity of Ben Solo. For some reason he began to wonder if maybe he had set himself too difficult a task in trying to steal on the freighter.

When Dameron's enthusiasm subsided, he started anxiously watching the cat-and-mouse game that the starships were playing in the sky. For now all the efforts of the fighters to get the freighter with their missiles went unsuccessful due to the skillful maneuvers of the Falcon's pilot.

“Why don't they fire back?!” Dameron cried in astonishment. “They don't fire back!” he called out to Kylo, but he only shrugged gloomily.

For several agonizing minutes the starships disappeared from their sight, starting a battle high in the air. Poe ran around the entrance of the mine like a madman, peering into the sky, while Kylo, no less agitated, but absolutely motionless, stood near. All they heard was the rumble of explosions. One turned out to be especially loud, it made the stones shudder, and right after it the black pieces of the blown-out TIE-fighter fell on them from above. The Falcon reappeared on the horizon and began to move downwards.

“They're landing!” trying to outshout the roar of the sublight drive of the ship, Dameron established a fact. “The cargo ramp is open!” he added, pointing to the broadside closest to them. “Let's go, girl!”

He ran out towards the Falcon, burying his face in his elbow – the descending ship raised swirls of sand into the air. Kylo, holding his hood, walked behind him. None of them noticed the second TIE-fighter, that slipped out of nowhere and showered them with laser shots. Poe, who was running in front of Ren, suddenly flinched, stopped abruptly and awkwardly fell on one side. A bloody stain appeared on his back. A piece of rock knocked out of the mountain by a fighter's shot, hit him at great speed...

The Millennium Falcon, slightly swaying, hovered in the air with the open cargo ramp. Somewhere from above the Order TIE roared again turning to take aim at the freighter. From over the hill came the sound of repulsorlift that didn't mean anything good. But for Kylo time stopped completely, and everything froze, as if on a defective hologram. He stared at Poe Dameron's body on the ground under his feet. The pilot was dead or unconscious, and Kylo pondered what would be the best thing to do right now.

With the arrival of stormtroopers the fate of the pilot would be predetermined. If he was dead, the imprisonment would no longer be a threat to him. But if he was just wounded, the pilot was in a bad spot. After Dameron's second escape from Hux, if Kylo's memory wasn't deceiving him, he was facing a death sentence - execution by means of some disgusting techno gizmo that the General admired so much - an electric chair or an automatic blood pump. Ren didn't care much about Poe, he himself would've killed him with pleasure. He remembered Dameron's dirty visions all over again - how pilot caresses a naked Zeltron on the bed, kisses her and, oh, Sith, pops it in her to the hilt. Yes, Kylo would gladly kill him, but what good would that do?

If he took Poe with him on the Falcon, Ren would put himself in mortal danger in case the pilot was alive. Kylo wouldn't be able to spread the Force illusion on everyone who might be on board. Assuming that Chewbacca was navigating the Falcon, he would be much more difficult to deceive than Dameron ever was. Poe hadn't even began to suspect all the capabilities of the Force. Unlike him the Wookiee knew Kylo's resourcefulness, he had known him from his childhood inside out. What was more Chewie was a friend of Han and must have been dreaming of avenging his death.

But on the other hand if Ren wanted to get on the Falcon, he couldn't leave Poe here, on the ground, in full view of its crew, whose trust he would have to gain. Had the pilot been dead or alive, that would be a bad recommendation for Kylo. In the end, he would have a million opportunities to solve this problem on board. Dameron could serve as his free pass on the ship, his rescue would be his security assurance in the hostile camp. There Ren saw a tangible benefit.

The irony of what was happening didn't escape him, and he grinned mirthlessly. Now, weighing all the pros and cons, more than ever he resembled himself his calculating father. The flimsy arguments for saving Poe more or less suited Kylo, even if the very fact of another good deed towards the enemy made him nauseous. He bent down to the pilot's prostrate body and found the carotid artery. The pulse was weak, but detectable. Kylo sighed in frustration, annoyingly rolled his eyes and muttered, curling his lips in disdain:

“A tough bastard... If I'll get you out I officially adopt you... I don't mind, if you would call me mommy...”

The TIE-fighter once again rushed overhead and unsuccessfully tried to shoot down the Falcon, hitting the rock instead. A hail of stones rained down from above, raggedly peppering the entrance to the shaft. Some pieces hit the hull of the freighter, however not causing it any substantial damage. But who could've say if this luck held? The sounds of the speeders, yet invisible, were inevitably approaching. Ren needed to act, but he still hesitated, and he had few excuses for this in the face of his own conscience.

The point was, he was terrified, cowardly afraid, like a naughty boy, to step on the Millennium Falcon. The possibility to meet with Chewiee was only part of the trouble. Kylo would have no reserves to get rid of the Wookiee, the Supreme Leader cared nothing for him now. But the chance to face the dirty scavenger from Jakku was aggravating. His tremulous “please” rang in Ren's head, making him feel a burning shame again.

It was easy and even sweet to design all kinds of torments for her being several thousands light years away. But now the whole idea threatened to end up in the dirty murglak hole just because Kylo was afraid to meet the girl face to face! The dead Palpatine's salacious advice to fuck his enemy, that suddenly resurfaced in his memory, and the damned wet dream about Rey's bare breasts, even if they were imaginary, made Ren feel huge creeps all over his body. And then Kylo realized that in order to get rid of this wrenching fear and shame, he would have to kill the girl. That was the only way he would know for sure that nothing ever would be possible between them.

He was pulled out from the abyss of his hesitation by the shots of the laser rifles that plowed up the earth around him. Three transport speeders appeared on the landing near the mine, crammed with white-armored stormtroopers. Two of them had already got out and, kneeling, began shooting at him. Ren cursed Hux once again, suspecting he deliberately "forgot" to inform the assault group that Kylo was in charge of the operation involving the Millennium Falcon. Perhaps he decided to dispose of the Leader once and for all. Ren readjusted the backpack on his shoulders, then grabbed Dameron's limp body under his arm and dragged him towards the ship.

Squinting his eyes to protect them from the dredge of dirt and dust that was flying around and dodging away from the laser shots, a couple of which he even had to deflect by the Force, Ren approached the open ramp. First he threw his things into the ship, then he lifted the pilot and carelessly loaded him onto the platform without any regard for the damage he might inflict on Poe. Then Kylo climbed the ramp himself. Still being an easy target for the lasers of the stormtroopers, he couldn't get to his feet to approach the place where, as he remembered from the past, the closing panel should have been located.

Then the ship started to lift off. Whoever was at its controls saw that Kylo and Dameron were already on board. Now Ren was out of the reach of the stormtroopers as the starship began its ascent, but he still couldn't get on to his feet. The wind whistled in his ears, while the ship had been wildly fishtailing. One more moment and Kylo would've fell down onto the stones. But suddenly the automatic pushers, activated by an invisible hand, began to move, and the ramp slowly crept up.

“Quick!” Ren heard and exhaled sharply - this was the voice of the girl. “Here!”

He leaned against the wall to catch his breath and gather the Force. But now he wasn't ready to start the illusion, so instead he pulled the hood deeper to hide his face and froze. His bad feelings have been turning into reality.

“Dameron?! How is he?!” Kylo heard again. “Is he injured?! Dead?! Damn it!!!”

Finally Ren got up, but he couldn't stay on his feet for long during the uncontrollable bumpy takeoff, and he again fell heavily to his knees. What the kriff was she doing there, Ren thought in towering anger and immediately felt the raging Force filling his body, helping him to overcome not only the consequences of the ship's rabid motions, but also his fear.

“Can you handle a laser cannon?!” Rey shouted, and Kylo was pleased to hear the despair in her voice. “I can't do it myself, the autopilot's freaking out, I have to switch on the manual! Find the gun turret until the TIE sends us sprawling on the rocks! We enter the orbit, I'll be able to turn on the hyper, but first we have to break away from the fighter, or damn refuse will hunt us down through the hyperspace!”

If some of the closest cronies of the Supreme Leader saw him now, they would not believe their eyes. Kylo gave a smile so broad and cheerful that he ceased to resemble himself without any Force disguise. He guessed that Rey was, by some happy chance, alone on the Falcon, so she couldn't pilot and defend it at the same time. Ren didn't expect such a gift from the fate and was unable to cope with the rush of evil joy. He couldn't answer her right now, without the preliminary eye contact which needed to be made in order to spread the illusion, he was speaking with his own voice, well known to Rey, he was sure. Of course Kylo knew where the gun turret was, and he darted there in silence.

With some difficulty he shoved his lengthy body into the gunner's seat, turned on the battle sight and looked around, hunting for the TIE-fighter, which presence was totally unnecessary for Ren right now. Trying not to think about his feelings - the sudden pleasant excitement from seeing the familiar ship quarters and the sweet anticipation of the battle - Kylo couldn't help smiling again.

The Falcon had already got pretty high above the ground to be able to take the course. But the Order fighter was nearby, it literally tailed them and prepared to start a new missile attack. Ren looked at the targeting computer. He was extremely focused, but also wouldn't mind to vent his anger with Hux on the unfortunate TIE. As the snatchy squeaks of the sight merged into one shrieking sound, Kylo pulled the trigger and fired a series of laser blasts. But missed. The TIE veered away in the air at the last moment, and the shots didn't even touch it. Ren gritted and gnashed his teeth, cursing the pilot of the fighter who suddenly wanted to display his flight skills. Its missiles razed the Falcon, causing the ship to jerk. Kylo grudgingly praised Rey for her shiphandling, she didn't interrupt the ascent.

The Falcon, meanwhile, entered the outer atmosphere of Tralus, and now they had to maneuver among the accumulations of orbital garbage, communication satellites and transport ships. But the TIE didn't hang behind. Ren caught it again on the screen of the targeting computer, letting it get closer with his eyes, and fired again, this time hitting it directly in the cockpit. After a short bright flash the burning pieces of the fighter fell down drawn by the planet's gravity.

Ren nearly joined in the triumphant "wheeee" that rang out from the cockpit. He rotated laser barrels, bloodthirsty looking at the sky in search of a possible reinforcement with the Order ensigns on board, but found nothing suspicious. The Falcon had been stabilized and moved quickly away from Tralus. A minute later hyperdrive kicked in and the stars became blazing stripes.

“Help me,” he heard Rey somewhere close. “We need to move Poe to the cabin.”

Kylo took a deep breath and got out of the turret.


	5. New Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryan Johnson says about the throne room scene: “The moment Kylo is asking Rey, I think Adam caught it very well, and that quiet “Please…” at the end - it was important for me that it wasn't a chess game, wasn't just a manipulation... It's his version of 'I'm just a girl standing in front of a guy.' From his point of view, it’s a very naked, open, emotional appeal,” Johnson said. "This is Kylo's version, sick, perverted, but presented from his point of view... I don't think he's lying, this is his sense of the moment. I think he says it sincerely."
> 
> ...it should be mentioned what THIRST Kylo Ren is experiencing in the interrogation scene in TFA. If you watch it in slowmo, it looks like he burns like an oven! He drains Rey dry, looking her up and down, gazing at her lips again and again. This man, who said that “By the grace of your training I will not be seduced,” is seduced as soon as he sees Rey... He is drawn to her, and this sexual attraction only deepens with time, as does his emotional feelings. Ben served Snoke literally from his childhood. Growing up under his influence, he never experienced real human relationships until he met Rey. He is immediately fascinated by her... This explains the storm of emotions in the lift; he feels desire, longing, passion, love, yearning, infatuation, sexual tension, everything that he has never experienced before, and inwardly he is ready for it. (Tumblr) ©

Kylo walked into the passage leading to the cargo ramp. From the sounds that were heard from there, Rey had been fussing over Dameron. Ren leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, gathering a tight ring of the Force around himself. He had to stay cool so that the girl wouldn't feel his **darkness**. With Poe he could go berserk and exude the energy of the Dark side right and left. Near the scavenger he had to control his every step in the out-world and every gesture in the invisible world of the Force.

He had to hide his Force abilities, as in a black box, at the same time using one of the most complex. Despite his previous exercises with the pilot and the Sullustan, it could’ve cost him the wholeness of the mind. The reason was that he had _a thing_ for the scavenger, experiencing a whole pile of negative emotions, from horror to disgust, while he didn’t care about other people at all.

Ren crossly reminded himself that the lightsaber was lying at the bottom of his backpack, almost completely unreachable for him now. At its usual place – on his belt – it would've juiced up its master considerably. But Rey was... acquainted with his weapon. She even used it in battle. Kylo couldn't take such risk and had to rely only on the Force illusion. Then again he wasn’t wearing a belt, Ren thought even more annoyed. He was still dressed in the fucking technician’s uniform. Although after he got rid of the insignia and crawled on his belly through half of the Galaxy, dodging the lasers of his own soldiers, his clothes looked more like the rags of the Tusken raiders.

Still thinking he returned to the cargo ramp where Dameron still laid. Through his attempts to concentrate Kylo heard incoming footsteps barely in time. He immediately pretended as if he had approached a moment ago. He urgently needed to make the eye contact with Rey, and he regarded her carefully from under the hood. Eagerly absorbing every detail Ren hastily looked her over from head to foot in a couple of seconds.

The girl hasn't changed much. She still had the same slender figure of a person, accustomed to hardships from the early childhood, who now has been mastering the Jedi skills. However her clothes were a little cleaner and more presentable. She was dressed up in a long sleeveless hooded cape made with some delicate white fabric, which didn’t conceal, but unobtrusively highlighted all the curves of her body. The hairs remained almost the same – they were tightly tied in buns at the back of the head, revealing a high, clean forehead and smooth slender neck. The way they were braided seemed vaguely familiar to Ren, it reminded him of his mother.

Her waist and right hip were twined by a leather holster with the blaster in it. Here Kylo thought about Han. The bloody scavenger, perhaps unintentionally, was copying him. After all, he was her role model and a father figure. In a way she was his successor – the girl got the Millennium Falcon – so she could take after him almost legitimately.

But Kylo also noticed several new features. Yet shallow, but restless wrinkle lain between the eyebrows, although the face was radiating a quiet confidence that wasn’t there before. Rey seemed to move smoother. Even now, after the vicissitudes of their escape from Tralus, and when she was obviously feeling anxious for the pilot, there seemed no haste in her motions.

If Kylo had time to think, he would’ve realized that now he was looking at the scavenger in a different way, paying attention to those details that he didn’t care much about before. The tanned skin on her arms and legs where it wasn’t covered by the clothes. Her bare neck and a pulsating dot on it. The mounds of her breasts and ass tightly covered by the cloth. He still thought about the scavenger as of his mortal enemy, unconsciously measuring her up like a Brentaal prostitute before the deal.

Still without haste but with the great deal of efficient determination Rey walked past him, as if not noticing, grazing Ren by the flaps of her cape. She didn't even turn her head in his direction, just said abruptly:

“I'm going for the stretcher. Wait here. We couldn't transfer him without it. It’s best not to disturb his wound. I checked, it’s rather deep. He needs a lot of bacta.”

Kylo frowned, in bewilderment looked after her disappearing again and even spread his hands in surprise. The girl exhibited an amazing carelessness, as if the strangers with the dangerously wounded Resistance members has been dropping for a chat on the Falcon almost every fucking day! But of course... He had saved Dameron in front of her eyes, and then blew the Order fighter into screws. He earned her trust...

One thing reassured Kylo – for now Rey didn't feel his presence probably being too worried about her buddy. It has been working in his favor, thus Ren could easily get her deceived. He chuckled, shrugged, walked over to Poe and cautiously touched him with the tip of his boot. The pilot still exhibited no signs of life, and that, too, was to Ren's benefit. He still had to decide what to do with the rebel in order to dispose of him. And decide how to deal with the scavenger... Kylo would never admit it, but now that he saw Rey again, just killing her, capturing the Falcon and returning to the Finalizer would have been too unimaginative. He suddenly had so many open questions and unresolved matters to discuss with her...

When the girl showed up again, she was dragging a folding stretcher. Kylo didn't move a muscle to help her. However the expression on his face had dutifully changed from treacherous to falsely anxious. Still not looking at him, she laid the stretcher on the floor next to Dameron.

“Help me move him, will you?” she asked, bending down and taking Poe by the shoulders, so Kylo, who was standing at the feet of the pilot, had to deal with his dusty, blood-splattered shoes.

Ren sighed and grabbed the dirty soles with his bare hands, once again fondly remembering his gloves. Together they pulled the limp body and rolled it onto the stretcher.

“Let's carry him to the cabin. I've found the bacta tank – that's all we can do for him on the Falcon” Rey said, and turning her back to Kylo again, seized the handles of the stretcher.

Kylo picked it up from his side and they went gingerly down the passage tube. After walking a few meters, they found themselves in a cabin with beds against its three walls. On one of them Kylo saw a portable tank with a transparent jelly-like substance that was spreading around a sickishly sweet aroma. Before placing Dameron inside the container, Rey sat down and began to undress him with gentle care.

“Hold him, please, I'll try to take off the jacket,” she said busily, completely focused on her work, still not paying attention to Ren.

Kylo angrily exhaled through the puffed-up nostrils, but obeyed, bent down and, raising Dameron under the arms, seated him. When Rey released Poe from the jacket, she began to unbutton his shirt with quick, sure movements. Watching her, Kylo scowled and twitched his lips despisingly. It seemed that the entire process was known to the girl, so adroitly she handled the buttons and then pulled the shirt off the man, exposing his bare body. Probably Uncle Luke didn't have time to instruct her on the essential Jedi celibacy.

With glum curiosity Ren was watching what would happen next, but was disappointed - Rey decided to leave Dameron his trousers, without any disgust taking off only his boots. Together they lifted him up again and immersed in the bacta so that it completely coated the wound. Kylo moved his lips in displeasure. He started to loose count how often he happened to save the pilot in a short time, that he spent with him. It seemed like Ren started to develop a bad habit...

Rey rearranged Dameron's unnaturally slumped head, carefully removed the curl that had fallen over his closed eyes, and, looking with concern at his motionless body, hugged herself and froze with the expression of complete despair. As Kylo watched her, his features were contorted with annoyance. He rolled his eyes exasperatedly so that when the girl suddenly turned and stared him right in the face, he almost lost control.

"Y-y-you..." Rey started, then fell silent and bent the brows.

It was necessary to act really quickly. Kylo looked into her hazel eyes, through them peering into her mind. He saw himself reflected in her gaze and mind's eye, what he was truly like - a man with the black hair, with a look of cold hatred and deadly determination on his face, crosscut with a scar, the scar that **she** bestowed on him. With one thought he dispelled this reflection, wiped it away like a vapor from a fogged mirror, and under it appeared the image of a pink-skinned Zeltron, gradually becoming clearer and more detailed. Ren left Manyara his black curls and tall stature. Nothing else in her reminded of him. Rey turned away for a moment, shook her head still frowning, then looked at Kylo again and smiled uncertainly.

“How did you?..” she began again, gave Kylo a second glance and laughed self-consciously, “Forget it, saw some strange shit...” she covered her eyes with the hand and muttered: “It's just a fatigue... I am alone on board... It's been three days without the proper sleep... I'm probably hallucinating...”

Kylo tried to squeeze out a smile, but taking in her choice of words he only managed some kind of a crooked grin. "Shit?.." he thought with growing rage, but immediately tried to regain his temper.

“How did you and Poe landed up on Tralus?.. I received Tuuu's alert, but there was nothing about you two...”

Kylo swallowed and, desperately hoping that along with the appearance, he returned himself the voice of the Zeltron girl, brought himself to speak:

“We-e-e... escaped from the Order cruiser together.”

Rey seemed surprised and asked:

“And what did Dameron do on the Order cruiser?”

“He'd gotten himself in a jug, of course,” Ren said matter-of-factly.

Rey looked at the pilot with sudden irritation.

“Haven't seen each other for a couple of months and he again stumbled into the Order! What will be next? The Siths? The seps?! Dameron and his bloody adventures... I'm not sure the General did the right thing letting him go on a mission alone...” the girl was speaking to herself and haven't seen how tensed Kylo became at the mention of his mother. “Well, it doesn't matter anymore, he's here,” she smiled at Ren, not noticing anything suspicious about him, “And thanks to you... Were you a prisoner too?”

“No... I was... on duty,” Ren answered reluctantly.

The smile was wiped from Rey's face as she said warily:

“You got rid of the TIE in no time... Are you a stormtrooper? A pilot?"

“No!” Kylo exclaimed hastily and then added more calmly: “I am a tech... But I... know weapons...”

Rey smiled again with that easygoing smile of hers.

“No offense. Don’t think that it’s some kind of interrogation. I saw you with Dameron, you were being shot at by the soldiers, and I saw that you didn’t leave him... I know some stormtroopers who completely changed their destiny, so I have no reason to discredit your words. If you are hiding from the First Order, you have come to the people who can help you, to your friends.”

Well, in that respect she didn’t change at all, Kylo thought, she was still glamorizing her precious Resistance with these rotten rebellious slogans.

The girl stepped to him and _offered Kylo her hand_.

“I’m Rey, it’s good to know you,” she said, but then suddenly noticed blood on his palm and asked worriedly. “Are you hurt?!”

Kylo looked down at his stained hands and cringed.

“Not mine. It’s his,” he answered and pointed at Dameron, then carelessly rubbed his fingers on his overalls. “My name is Manyara. I am hiding from the First Order and I need help.”

He shook Rey’s hand. He was afraid of this contact the most. He still remembered how they penetrated each other's consciousnesses, simply connecting their fingers. He wrapped the Force around himself in several thick layers like a snail shell, just so that Rey would not feel his true nature. However when Kylo ceased to feel the girl in the Force he felt her **with his skin**. A warm, soft, small hand with a firm, bold handshake. He was not ready for this and Rey still sensed something.

“Are you a Force user?” she asked, gazing at him intently.

“A Force... user? No-o, I guess…” he said.

Kylo’s embarrassment was quite genuine. He was still experiencing the consequences of their touch.

“Are you familiar with the ways of the Force?” explained the girl, letting go of his hand.

Ren, overcoming a sudden disappointment at that, replied:

“Ahh, you mean this... I know a little about the Force. Is that what it's called?”

“Yes,” Rey smiled. “Manyara, you've come to the right place.”

Kylo could still feel their touch, as if a low voltage current has been running through his arm. He looked at Rey. She was standing so close that he saw her chest rising and falling with every breath. He saw the kiss-curl at her temple that unruly came out of her hair, and the fresh skin of her cheeks. Ren saw her rosy-lipped mouth. He paused, looking at it, arguing with himself almost scholastically, how it would be if he touches her lips with his finger, with his own lips, his tongue...

Formerly when he offered Rey to become his apprentice and then to share with him the ruling of the Galaxy, Kylo never thought about her lips and how pleasant it would be to… kiss them, if that was how ordinary people were calling it. Seeing the girl as a Force-sensitive person, a dangerous rival, or a useful ally, he barely thought of her as... a girl!

When Skywalker was training new students he didn’t encourage teenage romances between them but stringently requested the total conquering of the external loyalties. Kylo thought that he was just jealous, being absolutely alone all his life, and used the Jedi code simply as his cover. However his uncle never punished those whom he found necking each other in the shadow of the Great Temple. He blamed it on their youth. It couldn’t be said that Ben’s few classmates were not interested in him. It was more like they were not interested in Ben Solo but rather in the prince from the House of Organa and the son of the famous smuggler Han Solo.

The trail of his parents’ prominence followed Ben wherever he went; or rather he was tied to it like an educated animal to its leash. Everyone wanted to become acquainted with the walking legend, and Ben received clumsy kisses and fussy hugs, just because he could get everything he wanted. But afterwards he suffered even greater loneliness. He learned pretty early that no one wanted him for his sake. So he didn’t share even a tiny piece of his soul with the sensation seekers, who threw themselves at him, and cut himself off all sloppy endearments.

During his apprenticeship under Snoke, when Ben Solo was driven out by the Master of the Knights of Ren, the vanity of a Force-sensitive warrior had replaced the vanity of a man, he thought - forever. Kylo didn’t have to seek approval in bed, when he wreaked havoc, sowed death, punished or pardoned at his own will. Those around him became dumb remotes fitted only for saber practice. They were not worthy to satisfy lust. Actually Ren didn’t have time to think it over; he was walking down the path of the Dark side. It alone, if known in its entirety, promised him pleasures much more intricate than a primitive sex. Moreover the followers of the Darkness, the Siths, also upheld the principle of a single life as their ideological opponents. They were not afraid of the affection though, but dreaded to become tender-hearted. So he had a strong, almost legal incentive to stay pure.

Yes, Kylo Ren was still a virgin… He never made it an issue, since he didn’t think much about it. Deep down he understood that it might seem strange in the ordinary world. Hux would surely make fun of the Supreme Leader if he found out such an interesting detail about his personality. But Kylo wasn’t bothered by this. Until recently… The seeds that were casually sowed by Palpatine into the new fertile soil of Ren’s emotions, took root and gave unexpected crop. The Emperor poisoned his familiar existence with his speeches.

Now, with the first glance at the girl Kylo experienced an irresistible desire, a scientific interest and a biological need _to taste_ her. Simply imagining this, he felt a dragging itch between his legs and uneasily realized that it activated those muscles of his body, which he couldn’t control with his mind. All that was happening had been making him weak and dependent, but he was ready to get used to it. However it was impossible to endure these new cravings.

_He shut his eyes for a second, and then stepped closer to the girl. Kylo put his big arm around her waist and eagerly pulled her to him, so that his face was hanging inches away from hers. Feeling the echo of his own rapid heartbeat in his temples and somewhere in his pants, he awkwardly pressed his mouth to her parted, wet-gleaming lips. It seemed strange, but she didn’t push him away, or drew her lightsaber to attack, although earlier she’d never wasted such opportunity. He let out a drawling "mmmmm", closing his eyes with pleasure, and then, in the pink mist, that covered him, he suddenly felt his feet lose support. In dismay, Ren thought that they were going to hit the floor, and released Rey from his hands, breaking the kiss with a loud, wet smack._

But the fall turned out to be only an illusion, like everything that he felt. In the anticipation of the blow, that never came, Ren shuddered violently and realized that he was lying with his back on something soft. He opened his eyes and immediately discerned the metal bulkhead above him and remembered that he was on the Millennium Falcon, his father's ship, in one of the bunks in the crew cabin. Trying to calm a ragged breathing and erase the remnants of the dream, Kylo ran his hand over his face and raised himself up on the elbows.

He remembered how, after dropping out of hyperspace in the unknown planetary system, Rey offered short rest, because, as she herself admitted, she was very tired. She was sure that it was a girl in front of her, Manyara, and not Kylo, so she calmly laid down and drifted off after a minute. Ren also settled down, barely fitting his lanky legs in the bunk. He decided not to sleep on no account, but closing his eyes for a second, apparently, lost this battle to exhaustion.

The girl was lying on the nearest bed, tucked in a blanket up to her chin. She was still sleeping peacefully, which meant, thank the Darkness, Ren didn’t give himself away in a dream. The eyes of the pilot, who was drifting in the tank, were also closed. He had not yet regained the consciousness. This was commonplace. With such wound he could marinate in the bacta for at least a week. Kylo carefully disentangled himself from the folds of the coverlet and, preparing for the worst, glanced at his crotch.

This time he had a lucky break, but the arousal had not yet receded. Kylo had a boner harder than a Merr-sonn baton. He covered it with his hand, trying to calm down, but then again looked at Rey, who was lying so invitingly a couple of meters away, and the treacherous member shuddered softly and swelled even more, almost making Ren moan. He bit his lower lip to prevent this from happening. Frustrated with himself, he clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it between the legs with all his might, trying to hold the moan again, this time caused by the sharp pain. After one self-abasing minute he realized with satisfaction that the fit had passed, and the sweat that appeared on his forehead and back began to dry out...

He didn't want to stay in the same room with the sleeping girl anymore. Each time he looked at her it made him more and more vulnerable in his own eyes. Kylo got up, put on his cloak, covered the head with the hood and left the cabin. In the half-dark passage he stopped, trying to get his directions, but, as if thinking about something else, gave up these efforts in vexation, turned right and just walked forward.

Ren was afraid to admit that he was deeply affected by Rey and _couldn't bring himself to do her harm_. He came here to kill the girl, not to jerk off looking at her sleeping tranquilly. Wanting to acquit himself, he thought that most likely when he got rid of the Snoke's constant mind control, his natural desires prevailed over the political ones. However Kylo had been concerned that the dirty Jakku scavenger, whom he vowed to destroy, became the target of these desires. He "promised" her death to his uncle, everyone in the Galaxy knew that Ren hated the girl!

Still walking through the Falcon's compartments without direction as if blindfold, Kylo saw a sit, in which he automatically sank and buried his head in his hands in order to put straight the thoughts that were tearing him apart. And then he looked around and smiled mirthlessly. Ren accidentally got to the cockpit. As if he didn't have enough sufferings for today, his feet just brought him where everything reminded him of the man _he was able to harm_. Kylo jumped up and angrily hit the control panel with his fist. Then he grimaced and inhaled sharply through his tightly clenched teeth. Cradling his bruised hand, Ren glanced with hatred at the sharp buttons and toggle switches, as if they were taking revenge for their former owner. Now Kylo was eager to murder at least someone.

He ran out into the passageway with a plan already matured in his head. He would gladly sacrifice Dameron! The pilot escaped from justice and assisted the Order technician on active duty to defect the place of her deployment. He was guilty of the military defeats of the First Order an unlimited number of times. He was a hardened criminal and, if alive, an obstacle to Ren's progress towards his goal. And, by the Eternal, he was a danger to himself...

To get rid of Poe now was the most logical thing. Until the pilot recovered his senses, this death wouldn't make Rey suspicious. Kylo couldn't hold back a smile but then frowned again, feverishly trying to remember how to get to the ramp to retrieve his backpack. However, he immediately checked himself and tsked regretfully. He couldn't use the saber, what kind of dag came to his mind? He just really missed it. So there was only one weapon left for him. And he swiftly returned to the cabin.

The girl was still sleeping peacefully. One bare knee peeped out from under the covers, and her lips were blissfully parted. Kylo tried not to look at her for too long, so as not to be distracted. In a couple of steps he moved closer to Poe's bed and stopped, clenching his fists almost reflexively. He could feel the Force concentrating around him, an obedient instrument ready to fulfill his intentions. Ren quickly thought about the best way to do it - to snap the pilot's neck or to break his spine - and opted for the time-tested Force-choke. He always received "encouragements" from Hux for this technique. Moreover, it could be pulled off in a relative silence.

Ren stretched out a hand to direct the Force-choke at Dameron's throat, but was surprised to see it tremble slightly. He felt like his fingers, that have been already filled with a deadly energy, bumped into some invisible barrier. With his face distorted with effort, trying to do something, Kylo glanced at them, then at Poe, understanding nothing. Then the barrier became not just impenetrable. It started to push his hand away like an oppositely charged magnet or more like a living creature. Not being able to fight it, Ren withdrew his hand. Breathing heavily, he hid his face in his hands and was now trembling all over. Completely immersed in his emotions, he didn't notice the sounds of movements behind him.

“Oh no, girl, I didn't know he became so dear to you,” Rey said with a genuine sympathy in her voice.

Kylo was afraid to move, he even held his breath, so he clearly heard that the girl got out of bed and approached him. She must have been awakened by the outbreak in the Force that he had created fighting _with himself_. Rey put her hand on his shoulder taking him by the elbow with the other one. Ren knew that he had to look at her no matter what, but he feared that the Force illusion wouldn’t work, as well as the Force-choke didn’t.

“I understand what he means to you, he took you off this terrible ship,” Rey started to say, patting Kylo on the back soothingly. “And I know how Poe can be - bold, smart and funny. You can fall in love with him in a couple of hours. And we all love him, although sometimes he pulls no punches. But it’s always for the good cause. I don’t remember how many times he had saved me, he does it… perfectly. But don’t worry, as soon as we arrive at the base, he will be treated. The bacta is already working, the wound will heal. Wait and see everything’ll be fine. In a war, losses are inevitable, but not today. You found him, and he... and we... discovered you...”

When Ren twigged what the girl was saying to him and what she assumed when she found him at the bedside near Dameron, he shuddered again and even gave a sob accidentally – but this time burbling with ill-concealed laughter. And again he was misunderstood by Rey. She definitely thought that he was crying! The girl bossily turned him to face her and hugged him tightly, thinking womanly that body contact would work better than words. Kylo was surprised into removing his hands from his face and immediately nuzzled against the top of her head - Rey was just a head smaller than him.

“Don't be silly,” Rey said quietly, nestling Kylo closer to her. “Crying will not help him anyway, but you should know that it was you who pulled him out from under the Order's blasters, it means a lot.”

As strong as his sensations were in his dreams, they paled in comparison with the hurricane of bodily experiences that engulfed Kylo now. Her vibrant warmth, the smell of her hair, her arms around him drove Ren crazy. With some small part of his mind he tried to control her perceptions, so Rey wouldn’t notice who she was actually hugging. But all his efforts ended in failure. The Force illusion could affect all senses apart from tactile, and Rey certainly felt that the body next to her didn’t belong to a woman. Ren's pretense was done for.

At first he felt that the girl tensed suspiciously. Her muscles that came in touch with his body toughened, while her embrace by contrast became weaker, having lost its former goodnatured vigor. It seemed like she was still hugging Kylo, but her hands were just raised in the air, imitating something that was no longer there. Then he felt an invisible pulsation, which the scavenger insistently evolved, trying, as if a sea leviathan with it sonars, to Force-scan the person in front of her.

Being dangerously close, Kylo didn’t have time to block these searches in time, because his human feelings were in complete disarray. The girl's hair still tickled his chin, and her thigh had been pressed against his groin. Ren detected the confusion and fright that accidentally spilled out of the scavenger when she realized that he was not who she took him for. Not a woman, but a man, not Manyara, but...

Then Rey lifted her head sharply and looked Kylo directly in the eye. The stare wasn’t long, but Ren had been able to see fear, surprise and, finally, disgust in it. On the instant the girl pushed him away from herself full-force - both with her muscles and with her mind - and the push was so powerful that Ren, who didn’t expect it, was thrown back on the senseless pilot. He knocked painfully against the metal frame of the bunk, and, trying to keep his balance, grabbed something without looking, plunging his hand into the gelatinous bacta.

Shacking off the lukewarm goo in disgust, Kylo stretched out his hand towards his backpack, which was, thank the generous Siths, stuffed under his bed, possibly brought here by the girl herself. It was time to arm, especially since Rey, even in a state of shock, was a quick thinker. She was already frantically unholstering her blaster.

After a couple of seconds they stood at the ready opposite each other, Ren - with an activated, furiously sparkling lightsaber in his hand, as if it was craving for the murder, and the girl with a pistol. Kylo noticed with a split feeling how she was holding her weapon now - almost casually, her arm bent at the elbow. She no longer resembled that frightened kid he had first met in the woods on Takodana.

“How did you manage to trick me?” squinting at Kylo, she hissed through clenched teeth.

“Such a simple-minded fool?” he sneered with his mouth only; he sensed her solemn indignation through the Force, noting almost contently that in this she also didn’t change a bit. “As soon as I _saved your pal_ , you switched off your brains and lost your guard. This would never have happened if you had agreed to become... my student...”

“Your student? And who is the fool here?” echoing him, Rey asked with a grin, without averting her eyes that were burning with hatred, and then added, more seriously: “Well, you’ve got some nerve...”

"Ah yes," Kylo sighed, nodding. “Sorry for my arrogance,” he apologized, twitching the corners of his lips. “I should learn from you. There are rumors that you're building a Jedi school? Which I never graduated by the way…”

“When I first saw you… there… I scanned you, but… I didn't feel anything,” Rey interrupted Kylo with annoyance in her voice, not listening to him.

“So, maybe it's too early for you to become a master? There is still something that you don’t know anything about. And as a matter of clarification, you sensed actually, but you are… low trained to recognize the illusion. Skywalker had departed from us so suddenly and… rather conveniently, don't you think? You cannot charge him with anything anymore. Looks like I'm not the only one he let down,” Ren shrugged patronizingly as he continued to grill her over the slow flame of his mockery.

“You know perfectly well that it had happened because one filthy Sithspawn approximated his death!..” the girl roughly retorted, and then suddenly smiled and put her finger on the blaster trigger. “I’m not worried. Everything that is known to you soon will cease to be a secret to me.”

Here Kylo remembered Snoke's words that the Force, trying to get into balance, would transfer his abilities and power to his opponent on the Light side. The girl somehow managed to figure it out on her own, and Ren, instantly getting angry, lost his composure for a moment. A malicious grimace oozed through the jeering, almost distant expression on his face. It would be better if she really was a fool! Wanting to punish the scavenger, he swung the saber and brought it closer to the bare chest of Dameron lying near.

“I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Ren said with icy vehemence in his voice, looking at her pistol. “We're just talking. If I were you, I wouldn’t take hasty decisions.”

Kylo's right palm was still slimy with bacta, and the saber flinched with a menacing buzz, nearly slitting the pilot open. Ren didn’t plan it, but it happened just in time. Rey frowned, swallowed uncomfortably and removed her finger from the trigger. In return, Ren prudently moved the lightsaber away from Poe.

“I saw you with Dameron... before he was hit,” she said, willing herself to calm down, and asked, glancing at the pilot: “What did you do to him to make him believe you?”

“He was even easier to trick,” Kylo replied, also mastering his emotions. “I let him _save me_. You good people are so predictable when you get into your heads that you have to save the Galaxy come what may. You’re not caring a jot about what the Galaxy really needs. Cautiousness is below you… If you could only borrow a tiny bit of my suspicion and guardedeness, it would make me really happy.”

Rey stared at him in angry surprise and asked:

“Will I ever be rid of your unwanted propositions? And you are speaking about the caution while trying to fight my laser blaster with your lightsaber.”

“One lightsaber is worth a dozen blasters, you know it,” Kylo replied seriously. “Unless of course, since I last saw you, you’ve mastered the mixed Jedi combat.”

She frowned again, which made Ren chuckle. Confusing her made him forget his own confusion.

“I'm just messing with you, calm down, such doesn’t exist,” he said, waving his hand. “The Jedi have always hated laserarms. To be honest, I'm surprised you're without the saber. Haven’t fixed it yet… from our last meeting?..”

With these words Kylo wanted to spite the scavenger and actually was rewarded with her bitchy look. But suddenly the shameful scene from the throne room of the previous Supreme Leader bubbled to the surface of his memory again, and Ren felt frustrated. He even lowered his weapon, although kept it active. His outstretched hand and sincere request. Her flat refusal to join him and the treacherous scuttle. His own dig hit him painfully, but he tried to give no sign of it.

During their conversation Ren constantly felt the invisible, chaotic vibrations of the Force field generated by the girl. Just in case, he put a double block on all her attempts to get into his head. He had no doubt that she would gladly wriggle into it, without taking her dirty shoes off, but he didn’t want it to happen right now. Not until he had manufactured a good excuse for his sudden appearance on the Falcon. Knowing that his thoughts could at any moment become open to Rey, he didn’t want to sink too deep into lies and deception, but he still had to make something up...

Then, as if sensing his unease, Rey asked, puzzled:

“Why are you here anyway, I don't understand. Obviously not to kill me. You could easily do it while I was asleep. Why didn't you?..”

“You know, that I'm not a big fan when people are being murdered in their sleep,” Kylo replied, making a sad face and thinking sulkily that he himself didn’t understand why didn’t he finish her when he had such a chance. Now seeing her like this… with his new eyes, Kylo wasn’t sure that he would be able to defeat her in an open fight.

The girl lowered the barrel of her blaster reconcilably and Ren clearly sensed the Force tension drop in the limited space of the cabin. He switched off the laser on the saber. Without its impatient buzz, Rey's outrageous disturbance in the Force had almost subsided. But judging by her appearance Kylo was sure that she was ready to whip it up again any minute.

“The very thought that you were here, watching me sleep... yak...” she said and shivered in disgust, “makes my skin crawl with horror!”

“Oh, thanks,” Kylo said gravely. “It's so nice when people see you as a… space slug or a womp-rat...”

“You were a girl! With a pink face! That’s kriffing sick!” Rey exclaimed, grimacing.

“It's not my fault! Did you know that your dearest pilot is faddish about the Zeltron chicks?! You weren’t yaking when you started to… feel me up,” Kylo grunted back. “At least at the beginning.”

Rey looked at him strangely and said more composedly:

“I didn't know it was you...”

Kylo dropped the corners of his lips and turned his gaze away from the girl, shaking his head. Hoked-up resentment was written on his face and crept in his voice when he said:

“Just as I thought… And that’s why I was… with the pink face, because I was prepared for your backlash...”

“What else did you expect?!” Rey exclaimed, interrupting Kylo again. “What kind of attitude? After you took over the leadership of the First Order instead of dismissing it? When you shattered the Resistance and caused the death of Master Luke, a living legend and a hope of all Force-sensitives?!”

“Choke it!” Ren yelled, cutting off her diatribe. “That’s a lot of praise for me alone! Skywalker decided his own fate when he projected himself on Crait, and the Resistance had already been defeated by Hux, who was doing it at the Snoke's bidding. You witnessed it yourself! And if I hadn’t taken over the leadership, as you call it, you would’ve been dead long ago!”

But Rey wasn’t convinced. She managed an evil grin and continued, having absolutely no sympathy for Kylo:

“What's more you betrayed your own nature and your family, you almost killed your mother and murdered your fa...”

Here Ren without any words activated his saber again and took a step towards Dameron.

“So help me the Dark side, you shut up or I’ll show you what his heart looks like,” he said in a voice dull with rage. “All the bacta of the Universe won’t be enough to patch that hole.”

The threat silenced Rey immediately, but she didn’t take her watchful eyes off him. Kylo could have sworn, after their argument she looked ... pleased with something. So he firmly decided that he would definitely test Palpatine's theory. If the girl didn’t want voluntarily to become his companion, he will master her by cunning or violence. Determination brought confidence. Ren took a deep breath to restore his faltered emotional equilibrium and said as if almost unconcerned:

“If you really care about the Force-sensitives, hear me out. I will make you understand how far away I am from the deeds that are being done in my name. To be considered the Supreme Leader of the First Order and to be him is not exactly the same thing.”


	6. A Horny Flutterplume

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> J.J. Abrams has done a remarkable job creating a villain who sparked love, fear and hate. Obviously, Abrams is aware of the importance of the character development... that is the process of creating a credible hero in a fiction by adding him depth, meaning, and personality. He no doubt accomplished that by giving Kylo an emotionally responsive backstory to make you like him. In order for you to feel compassion for him, for you to want to save him through redemption. Kylo's fight against loneliness is a brilliant juxtaposition of human destiny in literature and in real life. Abrams knew that many would begin to sympathize with this. That what makes Kylo’s character so compelling!
> 
> Ren "Forces" Rey to admit that she is nobody, and her parents sold her for drinking money. Remember, he thinks of her as of a scavenger. She's not a noble like him, Skywalker. Do you notice the control and narcissism he exudes? Kylo extends his hand to Rey to join him in pursuit of galactic domination. Not because he is in love with her. Rey is part of Kylo's twisted plan. She can help him achieve his dream of power. But we shouldn't discount Kylo's possible intention to continue the Skywalker lineage by mating with Rey through the Force. The Force conception is definitely possible. This is how his grandfather, Anakin, was born. ©

However the girl refused point-blank to continue their conversation by the unconscious Dameron.

“I can’t focus on my thoughts while you are... wagging this thing around,” she nodded sternly in the direction of the saber - even its lateral short emitters were dangerous. “If you want me to listen to you, I have to be sure you don’t start... intimidating me by threatening Poe again...”

Ren twisted his mouth contemptuously and glanced at the pilot, wondering if he was ready to lose such a powerful argument in the debate. Then he finally took his weapon away and gestured to the door with grotesque courtliness.

“You lead, I'll follow,” he said meekly and looked expectantly at the girl, testing her forbearance.

She gave him no satisfaction and, demonstrating almost indifferent determination, turned her back to him and left the cabin. Kylo smirked and caught her up in the passageway with a few wide strides. Rey didn't even pay attention. It seemed that in Ren’s presence she feared for her life less than for the life of her buddy, and without any show-off. Kylo couldn't say for sure that he didn't like it, at least that part that didn't concern her tender care for the kriffing pilot.

But in the next moment, when they entered the main lounge of the Falcon, he forgot all about this as the suffocating wave of memories flooded and drowned him.

Every minute that Ren has been spending on _Han Solo's ship_ , the awareness of the fact didn’t leave him. He had known all the cranky corners of the freighter since he found his feet. He last visited the Falcon more years ago than he could remember but Kylo hasn’t forgotten why. He had realized too early that he didn't turn out quite the way his parents wanted him to, and his parents turned out to be not quite what he imagined them to be. After that everything had changed...

Anyway Ren didn’t have time to hopscotch the space with his father anymore in search of adventures and profit. The Force and then its Dark side had cast a shadow between them. But he kept his childhood memories in great detail, perhaps because they were... happy?.. And that had been tormenting Kylo even more right now. So when the girl doubled her legs on the couch behind the holotable, he froze next to her, rapt in contemplation.

He was awakened from his reverie by Rey’s grumpy voice:

“Now, will you sit down? I'm trying to talk to you. To listen to you. This is what you wanted when you came to me, right? And what a maddening way to hang over people and stare like this... I've never seen this... Vader of yours, but from what I’ve heard about him, you definitely took after grandpa.”

Kylo slowly sank into the chair opposite and put his large hands on the black-and-white tabletop, unwittingly stroking its worn surface. He barely bit back the desire to switch on the dejarik generator in a fit of nostalgia that's why he totally neglected the girl’s arrogant remark that he was the visitor on _her property_. 

It was really distressing to recall how Chewie taught him the moves of the monster figures, and Kylo suddenly felt a lump in his throat. It was easier to think that all of it had happened to a different person. Then he caught the curious look of the scavenger and tried to concentrate. Now, when she was sitting… so close, he couldn’t effectively resist her Force tentacles, which she tried to plunge into his mind from time to time. Not changing his tactics Ren pressed his hand to his heart and thanked her caustically:

“Strange… That sounded almost like a compliment. Particularly pleased to get it from you.”

“It wasn't intended to be a compliment,” Rey said angrily. “I take no pleasure out of this conversation or from your presence on the ship, as a matter of fact. Get to the point."

“Alright,” Ren growled and his fists on their own accord clenched so tightly that the knuckles whitened - she wouldn’t let him lost his guard. “I want you to give up your efforts to rebuild the Jedi academy, forever,” he said and added ahead of her objections: “I am one hundred percent sure that you are gathering the Force-users for further training, don’t start convincing me otherwise...”

He saw the wings of Rey’s nose fluttered nervously, heard her puffed grumbingly, like a hungry rancor, and smirked. When he imagined something in her stead, something hideous like a Dathomir predator, Kylo found it easier to cope with the thoughts that have been gripping him whenever he looked at her lips, hair and exposed body areas.

“I don’t understand by what right you are telling me what to do,” she said, narrowing her eyes mistrustfully.

“I want to acquaint you with the First Order military doctrine,” Kylo continued patiently. “Do you mind?”

Rey immediately blurted out:

“Actually I do! Don't bother yourself, it’s an open secret. 'Kill everything that moves'. Something like this?..”

Ren rolled his eyes, but swallowed it and said:

“In every joke, no matter how feeble it is, there's only a part of a joke, and you are not far from the truth. The military doctrine of the First Order declares its complete domination - in space, in the air and on any type of surfaces of inhabited and uninhabited, but strategically useful, planets...”

“Kill anything that moves,” the scavenger interrupted him offhandedly, folding her arms across her chest and sweeping her eyes over him with boredom. "Freaks like you, dreaming of an iron fist and a black mask, couldn't come up with anything better!"

Ren regretted that he couldn't scare her with his saber now, threatening Dameron with death, but again contained his annoyance and finished the sentence as if he hadn't heard her harsh words:

"...as well as in the informational, the psychological areas, and in the Force."

A small frown creased Rey's brow. She moved closer, so that the swell of her breasts landed on the table, as if served for a taste-off. Kylo's thoughts suddenly became clouded with something lusciously pink.

“Are you saying that the First Order is planning to… use the Force… as a weapon… of mass destruction? That's impossible. According to our intelligence, you are simply destroying Force-sensitives. I personally saw a holocopy of the order. Approved by you,” she said, pointing her finger at him.

Kylo took his inappropriate emotions under control and tried to cope with the irritation that he felt from the fact that the girl even caused them. Taking out on her, he exclaimed with sudden rudeness:

“ **You** are going to tell me what the First Order is doing, _you, a scavenger?!_ Maybe you will allow **me** to build an opinion of my own? You, rebels, are all kriffing amateurs! Hux is feeding you with fake news! And you grab these... scraps... eat these... leftovers and think that you have obtained a valuable data! You will be the last to know that the Supreme Council started the experiments for the creation of the Force-sensitive army! With the help of which the rebels will be crushed, and the Order will extend its control to all systems of the Galaxy! Can you guess what your lame tries to unite the Force-users are against the technical potential of the Order?!”

Rey gave Ren a sharp look, while he was vehemently talking and chopping someone invisible in the air with his hand, and asked:

“Why are you telling me this?”

“The Order will initiate the experiment in the near future,” Kylo replied with a voice lowered a half-tone, running his hand through his hair to throw back the fringe that fell over his eyes during the seizure.

“Are you trying to say that all this is done behind your back? I'll never believe it,” the girl shook her head.

“Of course not all behind my back! Otherwise how would I know about this, in your opinion?” Ren snapped again. “But that's not the point. In the beginning they'll need me because of my knowledge and experience. Until they get the first sufficiently strong Force-users whom they will churn out like stormtroopers, in batches. I know what my generals think of me, because my intelligence is working just fine,” Kylo tapped his forehead with his finger. “They consider all Force-users to be cultists, sorcerers. They are ready to get rid of everyone they can't control. With the rest they will create a slave army. It is their ultimate dream!”

“You actually wanted to say 'ours',” Rey interrupted Ren cynically, looking him straight in the eye. “I don't think that someone else could've thought of this. All your previous attempts to build an unbeatable gun have failed, and now you've decided to... saddle the Force!”

Kylo felt his anger throttle him out of habit. The girl as always drew the wrong conclusions and was so idiotically fearless it made him sick. But he again suppressed his inner fire by clenching the teeth and said with a strained foreboding:

“Think what you like, but I warned you. Neither an army of Force-users nor a Jedi school should appear. The existence of at least one of these institutions can irreversibly disrupt the order in the Galaxy. We shouldn't try the Force like that. If both of them will be going, sooner or later we have to deal with the Force massacre. The balance that has been established with the deaths of Skywalker and Snoke will be shaken again. The Resistance is weak, it will yield to the Order without options. Your war will be lost. With a bunch of students you won't achieve anything. The Order is able to use the strength of the old Empire it has devoured. And what you got? That old junk and the rusted lightsaber which belonged to the man who killed all the Jedi?”

After these words Rey jumped to her feet, like a stubborn child, so now Kylo, who was still sitting, looked up at her.

“You misconceive the balance of the Force,” the girl said with contempt. “No balance will be established, with or without the school, until you reject the Dark side, leave the First Order, and return home!” Rey affronted him, and then, screwing her face into a smile, added: “And one more thing. Don't show your jealousy so openly, Ben Solo!”

When Ren heard the odious name he got up so abruptly that the chair flew out from under him, rolled to the other side of the lounge, its round seat spinning madly. Their own mutual customary counterbalance was re-established when Kylo loomed over the girl - a bag of muscles and hatred, his face and eyes darkened with anger.

“I've been waiting for you to start this dull song of yours, scavenger,” he began mockingly quiet. “Is it still nagging that I didn't run after you, like a trained vornskr? Can't you come to terms with the fact that you didn't lure me to the Light? Still drives you crazy that you've made a mistake, overreached yourself, broke with reality?”

Although tears had already appeared in the girl's eyes, her voice didn't tremble when she answered:

“And you can't let it go, trying to erase any memory of your own father! You even hate this freighter. Walk here, sulking, twisting your mouth. Just a little more and you soil everything with your Sith poisonous vomit!.. Nothing will help you. Everyone knows what you did, murderer!”

Kylo nodded almost with satisfaction, letting out a grin on his twitching lips, and said:

“Do you think that if you please my mother properly, she'll adopt you?.. General Leia? Princess Organa? You, a fatherless no-name? A scavenger from some shithole planet? You can act high and mighty, dusting everybody's eyes. But you were nobody, you remain nobody! And you'll die nobody! Soon!”

At that moment Rey gave a loud sob, and took a swing with her hand, preparing to slap Kylo in the face. But his trained combat reflex saved him. Ren was able to stop her before she carried out her intention, grabbing her wrist. However at the next instant he froze, mesmerized...

 _Everything around him suddenly changed. The room immersed into semi-darkness, the low ceiling of the ship's quarters soared up while the walls moved apart. He still saw the girl in front of him, although she was not standing, but lying on something. She was cocooned in some strange translucent garment made of a shimmering silver fabric, through which Kylo could easily discern the fetching outlines of her body - rounded shoulders, breasts with swollen nipples, her wide-spread legs and_ _**something** _ _between them, moist and glistening._

_He was still holding Rey's hand, but her expression also altered. There wasn't any disgust on her face, just boundless lust, not a shadow of her former squeamishness has been seen, only outright desire. She blinked languidly, licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, and spread her knee-bent legs even wider. And then Ren heard a low, drawling voice that seemed to enter his mind directly:_

“ _Take her, my boiiiii, she's ready for you...”_

Ren swallowed a scream of terror that had tied his throat up in a knot, and let go of Rey's hand. After he cut off their skin-to-skin contact so abruptly, the vision and the voice disappeared, while the small crew lounge of the Millenium Falcon manifested itself around him again. But the outline of the girl, lying in the suggestive position in front of him, was still floating in the air, as if imprinted.

He had never experienced anything like this before. During their interactions through the Force bond, the images were hazy and the scenes sketchy. Even the dreams about Rey that had begun to torment him quite recently, usually immersed in a pink haze, were not so vivid and lifelike for him to long to touch them.

Kylo snapped his eyes shut for a moment and shook his head as if he had just emerged from under the water. When he opened them again, Rey, thankfully fully clothed, stood in front of him. However the way she looked at him was strange, as though she was seeing him for the first time, almost the same when Ren took off his mask for her on Starkiller Base. May be a little bit daring...

Frowning, she looked into his eyes, at Kylo’s lips, then swept through his hair, caressed his bare neck that was sticking too far out from the triangular collar of his overalls, glanced at his broad chest, flat belly and somewhere lower then returned her gaze to his lips... Now, more than ever, Ren wanted to put on his surcoat, buttoning it tightly, and a cape, to glove his hands, and mask his face, just so she wouldn’t be able to examine him like a Twi'lek slave before purchasing.

Mastering his perturbed emotions, Kylo suddenly felt with despair that he was extremely aroused. A fire broke out between his legs, and his dick, engorging, has been pulsating softly in sync with Kylo’s heavy heartbeat. Imagining the size to which it was able to swell, Ren panicked – the thin fabric of the tech's uniform could hardly hide the contour of his uplifting boner.

And then he realized that the desire to get rid of his clothes, immediately and entirely, here and now, was much more powerful and demanding than the desire to get dressed. He also wanted to strip off the blasted Jedi her rags and her honor, provided, of course, that she still kept the latter. The scene that appeared before his mind’s eye where he was mercilessly ploughing her body with his iron prick through blood and tears brought Kylo to the brink of a raunchy swoon. He would gladly show her who was the master here and what all her stolen abilities were worth next to the unbridled power of the Darkness, flowing through his veins. He would’ve made it clear for her where she belonged - on the bed, naked and moaning, under his body, satisfying his male hunger!..

And at once, along with the scorching arousal, he experienced a fit of severe hatred, towards himself - for the weakness, towards Palpatine – for the temptation, and towards Rey – for the provocation. This alone helped him to concentrate a little. If only he could eject the dead emperor from his head who seemed to have settled there, and get rid of the girl who held him by the balls! Kylo was scared to admit it, but both things were **equally** impossible for him now.

However, taking Rey against her will wasn’t the best tactics. If Ren forced her he would achieve the sweet goal and saturate his momentary whim, at the same time exposing his _dependency_. It would give the girl a certain power over him, showing her that he... needed her... If she spread for him willingly, Ren would get a double pleasure – he wouldn’t think less of himself and succeeded. So now he just had to try not to jump all over Rey with his pants down.

Kylo closed his eyes again and passed a hand over his face, as if erasing the delusion. Then he turned around looking for a chair, returned it to the table, and sat down, against all the odds regaining his former composure. He had to use the only available method not to lose it again – he habitually drove his nails into the palms of his hands, leaving semi-circular blueish marks.

“I don’t think…” Ren began in a hoarse voice, coughed and continued, meaning the slap she wanted to give him, “…that this is the right course for our conversation.”

Rey plopped down on the couch with a perceptible shudder of the shoulders and hugged herself like she was trying to cover from a chill. Confusion made her curt:

“Yes, not really…”

The expression on the girl's face was still as weird, simultaneously dreamy and intently locked on Kylo. It seemed that she couldn’t stop staring at him, at the same time overcoming her extreme aversion, as if she saw in front of her... a horny flutterplume... Ren gave a gloom smirk at the appropriate comparison that came to his mind and said:

“I want you to think about my offer.”

She took her eyes off his moving lips with evident effort and half-smiling about something, asked:

“And you were offering…?”

“I was suggesting!” Ren growled with barely disguised threat in his voice then spoke quietly: “Just not to rush the matters with the Jedi school.”

"Oh, and that’s it?" Rey inquired, mimicking his condescending voice. “And then what? Will you offer us... a truce next?”

"Don't be naive," Kylo grimaced. “The war will certainly continue, but with the same odds. The victory of the First Order... or of the Resistance, if such will be the Celestials’ will, won’t affect the balance in the Force. If I… If we stay alive and remain two of a kind...”

Rey, it seemed involuntarily, moved closer to him and shook her head reproachfully.

“You so much excelled in using the Force, that you mistakenly believe it obeys you and you can truly control it. The vanity of the Dark side has blinded you. We are all mere channels for its redirection. The Force is present everywhere and doesn’t belong to anyone, so...”

Kylo looked at the girl uneasily. She was fidgeting impatiently on the very edge of her seat, waving her arms in dangerous proximity, while she tried to prove her point. He backed away with revulsion, as if she was touched by the rakghoul plague. The last thing he wanted right now was for her to touch him. And so, before everything started spinning again after he had just calmed down with such difficulty, he quickly interrupted her:

“Alright, looks like you really mean it. Skywalker had taught you well. The same old heresy... Did you swallow a bunch of sacred Jedi texts? I stick to my knowledge. And it is quite realistic.”

He thought that maybe now was the right time to tell Rey about the midi-chlorians and show her a trick by gauging her level in order to convince her that if the Force can be measured, it can be subdued. He was almost childishly curious to know what number the device will show after the analysis of her blood sample, and to see her face when she finds out that her precious Force is nothing but a chemical reaction. But instead of that, he had to contemplate one more time how she rolled her eyes with annoyance, putting a very good show of being tired of him. The girl breathed out her aggravation through the puffed-up nostrils, sucked her teeth and murmured almost to herself:

“You're not making it easier for me...”

At that moment, just as Kylo decided to ask her what she meant, the silence of the drifting ship was pierced with the air alert. Rey quickly looked at him with eyes wide with surprise and, jumping up, rushed out of the cabin. He immediately got up and ran after her - the girl was heading into the cockpit.

“What it is?” Kylo shouted in a voice demanding an immediate response.

“Someone is approaching the Falcon!” Rey cried back as she walked without even turning to him. “I put the deflector shields in the perimeter security mode.”

Kylo stopped for a second, frowned, then chuckled and said quietly with the notes of approval in his voice:

“An alarm?.. Smart...” and then again started after the girl and asked louder: “Perimeter of what size?”

“Enough to have time for a due maneuver, of course,” she answered patronizingly, as if she was speaking with a dull child, “Several tens of kilometers.”

“This can of corrosion needs a couple of parsecs, for a due maneuver,” Kylo muttered feeling slightly offended.

Entering the cockpit after Rey he intently searched the spaceskape around the ship through the viewports.

“Where did you bring us? Is this system safe? I've always thought the rebels control all the darkest holes of the Galaxy, thought you've got it covered... What coordinates you used for the last hyper jump?”

“We're in one of the Colonies Regions,” Rey said as she sat down in the pilot seat and also stared into the starry sky overhead.

Ren whistled and, not thinking what he was doing, sank down beside her in the chair, which have been usually occupied by Chewie. He didn't see the girl's amazed stare, as he was completely carried away by the spectacle that had opened to him. They were being approached by a ghost ship - the star destroyer definitely built in the times of the Galactic Empire. It have been still relatively far from the freighter, but considering the technical capabilities of both ships, the Falcon had found itself in a sticky situation.

The freighter was equipped with the shields against the assault weapons, but its own arsenal could hardly have caused any substantial damage to the cruiser without a backup. Moreover, star destroyers of that class were often fitted with the tractor-beam generators. The Falcon could be captured without firing or deflecting a single laser shot. Kylo remembered the story once heard from his father about the time when the freighter got in a jam like this. And he heard something else from his father, and therefore now he quietly swore under his breath:

“Drok it! A chick aboard is always bad luck.”

Then he launched the sublight drives with the practiced motions, and quipped, turning to Rey:

“The better half of the Galactic trade routes are going through the Colonies. Has it ever occurred to you that we could easily bump into someone here? Is this one of yours?” he nodded at the apparition.

The girl scowled at Ren, while he was skillfully operating the controls, his hands moved independently, knowing exactly what to do, and exclaimed, getting irate:

“What do you mean, yours?! I thought it was one of the Resurgents!”

Kylo sneered and shook his head, it was his time to give her a lecture:

“This battleship comes from the Kuat Drive Yards. Does it mean anything to you? It was built for the Empire Navy!” he sighed, seeing Rey's quizzical look, and added as if to himself but with the clear intention for her to be able to hear him: “Imagine, who I have to fight against... A proper scavenger should know its trade. This one wouldn't tell a dick from a finger... Do you see the proton cannons? Completely outdated! Look at the fuselage skin, rusted all out. It had fought in the battle of Endor, no doubt!”

Rey pursed her lips and grunted:

“You know best, you're bossing around several of such dicks yourself... Did you have a good laugh?! I just don't understand by whose authority you're playing the captain on my ship?”

And then Kylo noticed what he was doing, how comfortable he was in the copilot's seat. He was controlling the Falcon quite unconsciously. It was a strange feeling. A second ago he has been concerned only with the situation that had arisen, and now he had to analyze his own behavior. He shook his head, letting Rey know that now was not the time to bicker, and continued switching the toggles, adding thrust to the engines.

"If you want to be useful, turn on the hyper, in case we'll have to run fast," Ren ordered busily, not looking at her.

But he realized that it has been too late already. The cruiser approximated them too quickly, and Ren wasn't wrong when he assumed that it could use the tractor beam against the freighter. The sublight drive, which he was now trying to use in order to maintain even a semblance of a safe distance from the star destroyer, roared strenuously. However the Falcon hovered in a vacuum, not moving, and shook. Kylo growled, baring his teeth wildly, and pressed the thrust levers up to the limit.

“What are they doing?” Rey asked dismally, pointing at the ship overboard, in the twinkling of an eye she lost all her bravado. “Is this the tractor?”

Kylo sputtered foul courses and stopped trying to wrest the Falcon from the cruiser's gravity. He struck the controls furiously with his fist, this time without even feeling pain. Then he turned sharply to the girl and said, thinking out loud:

“If these are not mine, and not yours... may the Force give, that is true... then we don't need to identify ourselves by our real names. The ship is famous, that's a minus, but it can be hijacked or sold, right?.. I advise you to keep your mouth shut. If necessary, I will be speaking for us both. While we are still here, we need to arm ourselves. Take the saber, they'll definitely strip you off the blaster. But don't use the Force in the open. Until we are sure who these guys are, we don't need to show all our figures.”

“B-b-but...” she began, confused by his bossy instructions, “what about Poe?”

“Lock the cabin and break the lock. That's all you can do for him now. We don't have enough time to hide him in the smuggling compartment. And I'm not sure that we can moving him yet... They will probably check the ship with the thermal scanner, but the bacta could distort the data. If not, you'll have to lie...” then Ren thought about something and blurted out, noticing the girl's puzzled look: “Please don't imagine that I care about your kriffing pilot. I don't want them to find Dameron, so I won't have to explain why I didn't kill him!”

“And you?” suddenly asked Rey, staring at him. “You, the Supreme Leader of the First Order, are you not famous?”

Kylo chuckled, all at once sensing the boyish enthusiasm on the brink of a possible adventure, and, gracious to her slow-wittedness, said:

“The advantages of wearing a mask in front of the subordinates and the enemies have been truly invaluable...”


	7. The Show Goes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren is not that kind of person who would willingly put himself in a vulnerable position by becoming open to discussion, affection, pain – not with anyone. Investing him with the usual qualities of a mere mortal doesn’t correspond to a character clearly inspired by the Knights of the Temple or the chaste princes from the fairy tales. In a script-based novelization, Snoke describes him as “pure”. There is an opinion in which sex is interpreted as a biological need as evidence that a 30-year-old man is unlikely to be completely sexually inexperienced, but this is just another example of how fantasy differs from reality. Ren is a character, not a person, and he is depressed, controlled, driven into a certain bounds. Sex and intimacy of any kind – especially casual sex – are more appropriate for describing human "weaknesses" and “distractions”. Ren, however, completely ignores his human flaws, his "vulnerabilities”.
> 
> He covers himself in clothing, layer upon black layer, even his hands and neck. He is not at peace with himself, either physically, emotionally or mentally. We see this when he meets Rey. He quickly becomes physically, emotionally and mentally fascinated by her on a human level, and this is pretty absurd. That's where the tension between them and the chemistry comes from, if you ask me. ©

Not wasting a precious time they moved to the crew cabin, almost treading on each other's heels. Ren thought that most probably the girl was hurrying to look at her buddy one more time, which seemed totally after the fashion of the hyped-up pathos of the Light side. Unlike her he had a clear and practical intend – he needed his belongings.

As soon as they reached the cabin Rey rushed to the pilot, who still senseless had been swaying gently in the jelly-like bacta in sync with the soft surges of the Falcon, which was covering the space in total silence with shutoff engines. She knelt by the bunk, stroked Poe’s hair with an agitated expression, and anxiously checked the vitals on the tank panel. The scene made Ren's face twitch in disdain. However he had no time to examine this sugary sentimentality. Moreover, it generated a vague irritation deep down inside him.

Kylo fetched the backpack from under his bunk and began to rummage in it searching for clean clothes. He thought that in the second-hand cast-offs, which were on him now, he presented a shabby spectacle, ultimately because he felt himself insecure wearing them. He took out a bundle of black garments – a long-sleeve shirt, trousers and a vest – and threw them on the bed in front of him, getting ready to change, when he suddenly heard Rey. There was no approval in her voice, only cold mockery.

“And in this… outfit… you are planning to appear before those who are now dragging us to the cruiser? Whoever they are, yours or mine, they’ll immediately figure you out. Come on, be my guest! Just don’t forget your cape and a mask. Complete the picture!'' she nudged him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Do you have a better idea?” Kylo asked, glancing at the girl from under the brows.

“This is a pirate ship, if you hadn't noticed, and in this costume you’ll look like a foreign object. See for yourself,” Rey came up to him and lifted a multi-layered surcoat with her two fingers, like something nasty, “These are suitable for a galactic oppressor, no doubt, but not for a smuggler.”

“I don’t remember that we decided to pretend to be smugglers,” Kylo grumbled, but then nodded in annoyance, realizing that this was actually the only possible option, since they were on the Millennium Falcon: “But… this all I have. Except what’s on me.”

Rey didn't ask him why Ren wanted to change in the first place, just shook her head with the air of someone who has a backup plan, and, standing on tip toes, opened the shelf above the bunk. She pulled out a flight jacket with multiple pockets, a beige silk shirt, blue trousers with colored piping and a leather holster-belt, that she handed to Kylo with a straight face.

As soon as he understood what she wanted him to wear, he turned pale. In his gaze that has been wandering between his father's clothes and the girl there were confusion, anger, torment and begging, all at the same time. He was lost for words. Ren wasn’t expecting such a gut punch from her. He nervously ruffled his hair and shook his head, but had to pull himself together. In Rey's eyes, narrowed to slits, intently focused on him, he saw barely disguised impatient curiosity. She watched his every emotion, waiting for objections, which, in fact, were about to escape him.

To keep from showing the very sentimentality he had recently ridiculed, Ren bit his lip and with nervy movements began to unzip his overalls, looking defiantly at Rey. He roughly pulled off the upper part, not caring too much about the integrity of the cloth, and it teared under his strong fingers. Stripped to the waist, Kylo had already scraped off his shoes when he saw that the girl no longer looked into his face, but was shamelessly staring at his bare chest. His spontaneous smile took Rey by surprise. She looked down, fluttering her eyelids, and turned away.

After a couple of minutes, Ren finally garbed himself in Han Solo's clothes. It was narrow for his shoulders, and the pant legs turned out to be skimpy because of the difference in height between father and son. But these inconveniences were almost imperceptible against the feeling of scorching dislike, which seized Kylo, when the fabric of the shirt and trousers had touched his body. However, he didn’t have time to "enjoy" the sensation to the full. The Falcon jerked and changed its direction. Apparently it has been prepared to be docked into the cruiser.

The girl looked at him in alarm, visibly relieved to see that he was already fully dressed. She checked him with an appraising look and stepped closer, making Ren froze. His back stiffened, his nerves were tensely strung. He was clueless about what she was up to. Rey frowned and, trying not to meet his gaze, undid the tightly buttoned top of his shirt. She spread the collar, exposing his collarbones. Afraid to move Kylo watched her from the corner of his eye. Wanting to break the silence that was beginning to weigh him down, and at least somehow to distract himself from what she was doing with him, he asked:

"Can I at least keep my boots? Are they... appropriate enough for your show?”

The girl put her palms on Ren's shoulders reflexively, leaning on him, and looked down at his shoeless feet in socks, funny sticking out of the too short trousers. Then she shrunk from him, as if scalded, and turned away again, convulsively rubbing her hands.

“Let me remind you, if you've forgotten, that you came to me, pretending to be a technician,” she said with an offended tone. “So you started the show a little earlier.”

Kylo pulled on his boots, and hung his saber on the belt. For now he decided to leave the rest of his things on the Falcon. Then both left the cabin. Rey, giving Poe the last regretful look, closed the hatch and started to punch the security code on its electronic lock. But Ren, without saying anything, moved her aside and with all his might drove the elbow into the panel. With a cascade of sparks and furious squeaks of the broken mechanism the door lock went dead.

“I said, break it. That will be safer,” he told the stunned girl and started to the cockpit.

At least for a moment, he felt himself avenged, almost baby-like. However his thoughts returned to the scene in the crew cabin and to the sensations that arose in him when Rey unbuttoned his shirt, standing only a couple of centimeters away. In his mind he could still see how an unruly strand of her hair stirred from his breathing, and with some fascination recalled the trembling pulse on her neck. Kylo thought that she had seemed in no hurry to move away from him, that their proximity didn't frighten her at all. On the contrary, the girl prolonged these moments, carefully adjusting the shirt collar, as if she was waiting for something.

These unexpectedly pleasant recollections distracted Ren from what was happening with the ship, and he didn't immediately perceived that the Falcon was no longer moving. He stepped into the cockpit and realized that they were already inside the star destroyer, in one of its docks, surrounded by a very strange company.

Among the creatures that were scurrying around, mooring the freighter, or just crowding to gawk at the taken booty, Ren saw humans, near-humans and non-humans, dressed up so colorful that he was dazzled. But at least in this crowd he didn't see the snow-white plasarmor or the orange flight suits, so it still could be that this ship didn't belong neither to the First Order nor to the rebels.

Rather, this mob resembled a gang of cut-throats. Many had been lacking limbs, eyes, ears or tentacles, and the expressions on faces, mugs and snouts were devoid of dignity. Kylo's attention was suddenly caught by something that didn't quite fit in. Away from the hustle stood a richly dressed man. His face was unfamiliar to Ren, although vaguely reminiscent of someone. In an embroidered gold cloak, with a cane in his hand, he haughtily watched the fuss around him, and Ren realized that this one was in charge. Perhaps their fate depended on him.

“That's not the Order, is it?” the girl asked, looking anxiously at him.

“I tired to tell you, the destroyer is not ours,” Kylo responded contemptibly and added: “But there is no rebel scum here either.”

"Definitely," Rey nodded, too worried to notice his rudeness.

Kylo wanted to instruct the girl once again not to get into trouble and leave everything to him, but he didn't have time. In the hangar, on the Falcon and, it seemed, in their very heads, a monotonous voice came on, increased by the amplifiers:

“Abandon the ship at once! Mandatory sanitation will be performed at 60 seconds. Abandon the ship at once! Mandatory sanitation will be performed at 57 seconds.”

“We have to get out before they burn everything here with radiation,” muttered Kylo, looking at the people lined up before the Falcon with the sanitary cannons at the ready, and pressed the controls of the main landing hatch. “Of course, if you really care about your Dameron...”

“You seem to be completely sure of yourself,” Rey exclaimed with a slight scoff in her voice. “But we didn't even discuss what are we going to...”

“..lie to them?” Ren finished her sentence and said with a grin, leaving the cockpit: “We'll pass for a couple of smugglers. It was you who proposed it in the first place.”

“A couple? A COUPLE?!” the girl shouted after him, but Kylo was already walking down the ramp, raising both hands up in the air to demonstrate his good intentions; however he didn't forget to follow with a watchful stare all that was happening.

As soon as they appeared on the stairs, the fuss in the dock had stopped, the hubbub had instantly subsided as if on cue, and all heads, human and alien, had turned to them. Kylo halted and pretended to look around, actually watching the man in the rich robes, who looked at his guests with equal interest.

He was middle-aged, with a high forehead covered with first visible wrinkles. He had blond hair, slightly touched with gray at the temples, iron-gray eyes with an attentive and intelligent expression and a narrow-lipped mouth. He reminded Kylo of his own father and at the same time of Lando Calrissian, his old accomplice, despite the fact that there was no physical resemblance between these men whatsoever. Maybe the thing was that all of them at certain moments of their lives under the various galactic governments were army men and hired guns.

The man clearly had a military bearing, and he was dressed with the foppishness of a soldier of fortune. But the strange, vague feeling that Ren had was not based on this. Kylo didn't know him. However he was sure that he had already seen this person somewhere.

Kylo knew he had to put on a disarming expression and, oh, glorious Siths! maybe even give a relaxed smile. In fact, it turned out to be not as difficult as he had imagined himself. He lifted the corners of his mouth, one by one, and stretched his lips. But here Ren met the girl's anxious gaze.

“Do you want to scare everyone to death with your feral grin?” Rey asked in a low voice, also trying to smile; she did it much more decently and smoothly.

“I’m trying my best,” Kylo whispered through clenched teeth, already sick of his old man’s tight clothes, which seemed to burn his skin.

“Stop hissing at me and do something before they pump us with bullets or roast as steaks,” the girl said quietly, pushing him forward.

Unfortunately, she was rather observant. Most of those present were armed head-to-toe not only with blasters, but also with slugthrowers of different modifications. Kylo quickly turned to Rey and tried to attach the look in his eyes to his smiling lips. This time he received a silent approval from the girl, who nodded him condescendingly. Then he surveyed the crowd at the Falcon, took a deep breath and asked loudly, getting down to business straightaway:

“To whom do I owe this audacious imprisonment? And according to which galactic law is my ship captured?”

There was no answer. Dozens of eyes looked at them in silence, and no one was in a hurry to smile back at them. Tossing his hair, Kylo continued:

“Since when are the peaceful travelers being captured on the neutral trade routes? Like this, in an underhand way? Without giving any reason? Involving the use of the technology prohibited by the… Yavin Convention?!”

He got himself steamed up with each new question. And this time somewhere from the thicket of the creatures surrounding the freighter a good-natured laugh sounded and a raspy voice said:

“Peaceful travelers? Heh! With a turbolaser...”

“Yeah... And with the deflectors...” responded someone else.

“Lookie here, Snoopy. What is he blabbing about? Some doshing convection?” man's voice asked with concern. “What the kriff, huh?”

“Nah! Convention, you dork! Some Ya-vin,” corrected him irritably and added in thoughtfulness: “But fuck me veermok, if I know what kind of shit it is…”

“You dig, Creep, hah? He's yapping somting about laws. Smooth talks us,” someone said knowingly.

“He's just a spring chicken, must be. Fuck me for giving a shit about them laws,” a voice nearby agreed.

A wave of bashful laughter, barking and gurgling swept through the crowd, and the tension eased slightly. But Ren, who was especially worried about the scrutiny given to 'the Yavin convention', which he just invented in order to enhance the effect of his words, frowned in annoyance. He had no time for fun. He realized that they were in the clutches of the galactic vermin - the savage smugglers.

This perfectly explained the used imperial starship, its motley crew, and gangster-like appearance of its members. Kylo couldn't say for sure what was on their minds. They didn't recognize any authority, except for credits. And he strongly doubted that the girl had enough currency with her to buy the favor of such an unscrupulous public. There was not one murderous task in the entire universe that such scum would shun, whether it was the slave trade, drug trafficking or contract killing. It was they who supplied human material for the stormtroopers' squads, all across the Galaxy stealing from mothers their babies, who afterwards were weirded to serve in the Order to the their deaths.

Ren had only one option. He had to use his art of persuasion, the quality that the Supreme Leader definitely possessed. However he couldn't Force-strangle them all, there were too many of them. He had to talk to them. And Kylo smiled at the crowd genially, spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders, as if admitting his mistakes, and, outshouting the uproar, said:

“Nowadays, peaceful travelers need shields and guns no less than the Resistance or the First Order, and maybe even more...”

At the mention of the warring parties, the cackle began to subside until it turned into lonely stand-alone chuckles. People started to look around with suspicion and Kylo realized that everyone was eyeing the man in the gold cloak, whom he had inwardly appointed the local ringleader.

“At least, whoever we are, you owe us an explanation, who captured us and by what right,” Ren said, staring directly at the man.

The solid mass of the crowd immediately parted, and the ringleader approached the Falcon with a cocksure gait. He prudently stopped a few steps from the landing ramp and, rhythmically tapping his boot with the cane, addressed Kylo in a pleasant, engaging baritone:

“Please take the trouble to name yourself and identify the spacecraft, young people.”

Kylo breathed out a mental sigh of relief. He considered it beneath him to communicate with the smuggling rabble. He was much more accustomed to talking with men like this one. He at least seemed to be educated. Moreover the fact that the leader decided to join the talking gave Ren a chance to 'scan' him thoroughly, of course in such a way that it wouldn't alarm the man. Actually he wouldn't have to feel anything.

Kylo recalled how he tested this Force power on Dameron, when he quietly 'climbed' into his mind. He needed to find out by which image the pilot would be most definitely tricked, whom he would be more willing to trust. This is how the pink-skinned Manyara appeared. The main thing was to make the foray as inconspicuous as possible. That took a stable eye contact and a lot of energy, much more than the usual Force breaking into consciousness required. But Kylo hoped this time it wouldn't be as destructive for him.

"Uh... a spacecraft? Within my memory nobody dared to call the Star Princess like that,” Ren chuckled, looking the man straight in the eye.

However, Kylo's attempt failed. Soft palm of the Force, that he wanted to use to drive into the head of the leader, suddenly stumbled upon an invisible wall, that seemed tightly surrounding him. For some reason Ren imagined it to be black. He clearly felt only his own bewilderment. Not a hint of Force sensitivity or lack thereof, that usually were quickly detected, as if a wall for some unknown purpose had been erected around a total... emptiness.

“I doubt that this is the real name of this ship,” the man shook his head; it was hard to tell if he realized that Kylo tried to probe his thoughts.

“Fuck me, that one's talking shit, this is the Falcon,” Ren heard and in a towering rage turned to the crowd to find the speaker, desiring to use the Force at least on someone. “I saw it once as a kid in Canto Bight.”

“What did you see, what did you see?!” his Neimoidian neighbor said doubtfully. “Where's Canto Bight, and where's your ugly arse?..”

“Yes, I'll be oiling droids till I croak, if it's not the Millennium! On my mommy!” the first bandit insisted, beating the chest with his fist.

The leader was closely watching Kylo's reaction, who took a lot of effort to maintain a relaxed expression on his face. He was about to start making excuses to get out of the scrape, but suddenly the girl, who up to that moment stood silently on his left, stepped forward and said:

“This is actually the Star Princess, who was the Millennium Falcon last week. Registration number 1011415562630...”

"Enough, that will do, I don't have any need in these technical details," the man, slightly irritated, had interrupted her with a wave of his well cared-for hand. “I just want to know, dear lady, how did you get the Falcon.”

"Oh, as it always happens," Rey replied casually. “The previous owner gambled it away playing sabacc.”

Now Kylo's anger spread to the 'dear lady' who risked interfering into his conversation with the leader. She clearly fancied that she was helping him! What pissed Ren off the most was how easily she was able to tell stories. Although two could play this game.

“Sabacc, is it?” The man exclaimed in mock surprise.

"Yes, sabacc," Ren pitched in. “The time came to return the heirloom.”

“The heirloom of which family exactly, I'm curious?” the man asked him.

“The Solo family, of course. It had owned the Falcon for the last forty years,” Kylo replied.

Here he felt the soft Force impulses, that the girl was emanating, and looked at her. She stared at him with no less surprise than those around them. But now was not the time to discuss his input into the story. It would be too suspicious to do in front of everyone else.

“And you, of course, are Solo?”

“Jonashe Solo,” Ren said, fetching from his memory the name he once heard in the talk of his parents.

He thought it belonged to a man who was his paternal grandfather. In technical sense Kylo didn't even have to lie, the name was not feigned.

“Let's say that's true,” the man nodded softly and said a little, it seemed to Kylo, ominously: “But as far as I know, at the moment the starship belongs to the Resistance fleet, and before that it was the personal craft of the rebel general Han Solo, until he died.”

Kylo's heart skipped a beat, and he nervously twitched his throat, which became parched with agitation.

“General Han,” he began cautiously, physically feeling the hatred that Rey had directed at him now, “broke up with his family long before his… death. And you know, I wasn't much interested in the political affiliation of the person who sat down with me to play cards. No one is prohibited from the little game of sabacc. Maybe he was short the army ration. I don’t think the Resistance is rolling in money... And if your information is accurate, what is it, if not another good reason to return Solo's ship. Its further use in this senseless war seems unacceptable to me. Its place is in the family museum.”

“Another one?” the man repeated sarcastically.

“Yes, in addition to the most important,” Kylo said and glanced at Rey, who immediately bent her brows sensing some kind of a trap. “I wanted to make a wedding present truly worthy of my darling Allana.”

At these words he grasped the girl by the waist, not looking at her, and roughly pulled her closer, extorting a hardly audible painful 'oh' from her lips. To others it looked like a completely natural and gentle gesture. But in fact Ren's fingers, ruthlessly digging into Rey's flesh, hardly brought her any pleasure. Actually he wanted to cause her as much discomfort and inconvenience as possible when he pressed her thigh to his, not trying to suppress the strength. However, burned to the bone with her closeness and warmth, Kylo had been forced to loosen his grip.

The world beyond their touch wavered and threatened to disappear completely. So, reluctantly, Kylo had to let go of Rey. But the harm had already been done. She looked at him with eyes full of pain and resentment, which somehow upset him. If Ren hadn't blocked her Force punch in time, he wouldn't have been able to stand on his feet. And thought that he could gladly use the same wall, impenetrable to the Force, that surrounded the bandit leader, whatever were its origins...

“Oh, newlyweds,” the man smiled dirty, which contrasted with his previously serious appearance, and ordered: “Put them in cuffs and escort to the cell.”

Still preoccupied with his thoughts, Ren didn't have a chance to brace himself, when armed people encircled them. They were approached with a pair of droids, equipped with the excessive number of stun shockers. From self-defense weapons and repair tools the probes on them were turned into torture devices. Kylo was first to be subdued, because smugglers considered him more dangerous. Then it was Rey's turn. After they were restrained in magnacuffs, without much ceremony bandits dragged them almost by the scruff of their necks out of the hangar towards the turbolift.

“In one cell, sir?” Kylo heard somebody asking behind him.

“Let's be merciful,” answered the leader. “We shouldn't separate bride and groom...”


	8. In Private

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren still restrains himself around her, but his tendency to act on a pure instinct causes him to crawl as he watches her sleep, to try - and fail miserably - to manipulate her, to cast aside his mission and rummage in her thoughts and memories, to devour her eyes, face, lips and body. And yet he doesn't touch her, he almost seems to be afraid of it, trembling with anticipation, fighting the weakness and vulnerability she makes him feel. That, and the fact that she actually defeats him twice in battle, creates an exciting dynamic.
> 
> One of Kylo Ren's trademarks is his clenched fists. They symbolize the tension, the rage that he experiences, and his inner struggle. In the interrogation scene, when he watches Rey while she is unconscious, that is the only time his fingers are not clenched throughout the whole TFA. © (Tumblr)

The dark closet to which they were thrown — the eerie claustrophobic nightmare — was so small that it made the prison cells on the Order flagship seem like palace halls. But Kylo didn't have enough time to get a good look around anyway. As soon as their jailers freed them from magnacuffs and the closed hatch cut them off from the rest of the world, the girl jumped up to him, approaching dangerously close. Tight clothing, a cramped room and a suffocating company, what else did he need in order to lose his mind completely?

“Tell me, what just happened there?” Rey demanded, staring at him.

Kylo quickly glanced over her face. He neither missed the sparkle of tears in her eyes, nor her quivering lips, nor the ragged breathing that made her chest heave nervously. Until recently, he would’ve been flattered that he caused her such anguish, now it had made him upset. Gritting his teeth, he turned away, found the farthest corner and sat down on the floor, crossing his long legs.

“Did you come up with this story to annoy me?” she asked, not taking his sullen indifference for an answer. “Is that your usual style for negotiations? You allowed them to drag us here, to lock us up, while Poe is alone on the Falcon, and who knows, in what state!..”

Ren smiled bitterly. Of course, it was foolish of him to think that her tears were of his making. Rey was just worried about her buddy.

“Your dearest Poe bothers me less than a stinking nerf. And the bargaining with scumbags has never been my strong suit,” Kylo hissed with cold fury and in complete earnest tried to focus on contemplating the gray-steel walls of the cell.

“Oh, I know your strong suit perfectly well! To yank your saber and swing it around in all the wrong places,” Rey responded with an icy-cold taunt, “However not this time, although they didn’t even try to take it away from you!”

Ren gave her a sidelong glance. That was true and rather strange - his lightsaber was still with him. It might be that this lot didn't know that it was a weapon. Although Kylo couldn’t even say with certainty if they had searched him before shutting in. At that moment he was still under the influence of his contact with Rey. Quoting her he thought that close to the girl he increasingly wanted 'to yank' his dick from his trousers and use it as intended, the rest was lost beyond this desire.

He didn’t like to admit it, but it was more and more difficult for him to concentrate on anything other than her. She usurped his attention and it had been hurting his self-esteem. Yes, he wanted to make her mad, maybe even cause her pain, Rey was right about that. But Kylo’s intention turned against him. When he had been touching the girl, his blood was rushing into the wrong body parts, making the skin on his back and buttocks crawl with creeps that threatened to mutate into butterflies in his stomach.

He shrugged and said, explaining the obvious:

“The dock was full of thugs with guns, you must have seen them. Or did you think that in order to save you I would fight all these people?! Even if we join our Forces, we wouldn’t be able to defeat so many opponents at once. But that doesn’t mean that the weapon wouldn’t come in handy later. Was it really worth drawing attention to the only lightsaber we have?..” Kylo paused and added: “By the way I didn’t see you take yours. A true Jedi, that’s for sure! Then again, maybe you just hid it really well, ha?” he sneered, examining Rey from head to toe.

It was possible that Kylo just imagined it, but he thought he saw guilt in her shifty eyes. When the meaning of his last question dawned on her, Rey blurted out irritably:

“Are you satisfied with your dirty joke?..” and added, trying to justify herself: “I… didn't have time.”

“You have yourself to blame for the rest of our troubles,” Ren continued, waving his hand indifferently. “If you hadn't got into my talk with their boss, we wouldn't have ended up here. Before that it was possible to pass for master and servant, but as soon as you opened your mouth, I had no choice!.. And I still need to find out his name, I'm sure that I saw the man somewhere...”

“For master and servant?!” Rey exclaimed, interrupting his speculations. “You keep forgetting that you came to my ship. And now you are the master all of a sudden?”

Kylo rolled his eyes, shook his head, and gave a tired sigh.

“Will you cool down already? This junk is the last thing I need in my life,” he said wearily, but then jumped up impulsively and in one step emerged before the girl, forcing her to recoil fearfully. “Will you just think a little? There are two people on the ship, a man and a woman. The woman behaves like an equal to the man. Was I supposed to introduce you as my… cleaning lady or a... cook after that?!”

“If you are so fond of being in control,” Rey replied taungtingly, “you could've said that I’m… the co-pilot!”

“Have you seen this pack?!” Ren asked, flaring up, and nodded towards the hatch. “Murderers and thieves! Do you know what they do with girlies like you? Didn't my mother tell you how she was captured by Jabba the Hutt? I had to listen to this five hundred times!” he made an eloquent gesture as if he was cutting his own throat with his hand. “Thank Darkness, she wasn't re-enacting it!.. But my mother was a princess then, the leader of the Rebel Alliance and, in any case, came out unscathed. Do you want me to explain, what they do to you?”

The girl frowned and said, aggrieved:

“I appreciate your honesty, really. I've never doubted that you think I'm just dust under your boots... Did you take care of me? That's not like you... And what could be done to a co-pilot, is even easier to do with a cleaner or a cook.”

Kylo perked a finger in Rey's face and said with a crooked grin:

“Just for a moment stop reducing everything to our disagreements and think! If there is an opportunity to make big credits, these will definitely take it. I can swear that they are already making plans to sell us for a higher price to our – would-be – relatives. You may not like my plan, but at least now they won't gangbang you for fun... So, yes! I took a really good care of you! You should be especially thankful that I... made you my... w-wife... and Solo!... You owe me your...”

He fell silent abruptly while the girl bemusedly challenged him to continue:

“Well, come on!..”

But Kylo thought he pushed it too far. He lowered his eyes, bit his lip and took a step back, then ran his hand over his face and, gathering determination, looked back at Rey. He was cursing himself for starting these connubial tiff because he could no longer stop his inflamed fantasy. He suddenly imagined the girl lying on the bed, prepared for numerous rapes, with nothing on, defenseless in her nakedness and armed with it.

Confused, he felt the heat rush to his cheeks, but realized that he blushed not from shame, but from pleasure, because he got horny instantly. The trousers, already too tight around the crotch, bit mercilessly into his swelling flesh. Rey, standing in front of him, suddenly looked buffled. And Kylo felt almost scared that she had learned some Jedi tricks he didn't know about, which had helped her read his erotic visions in real time. And there was something else, apart from being confused the girl looked intrigued.

“But…” Rey argued timidly, “...you're not Solo.”

“That's what I'm always telling you. Solo is dead...” Ren nodded.

“And I'm not your wife,” the girl shook her head.

“Sith forbid!” Kylo agreed, feigning indignation, and was surprised at how fake his voice sounded.

He wanted to get closer to Rey, to touch her and kiss her, but his hands suddenly felt heavy, as if each weighed at least a ton, and his muscles were stiff as though he just came out of a carbon-freezing.

“We only had to pretend, and look, what we've been doing already,” Ren said, swallowing his excitement. “A real domestic feud, the Skywalker style...”

A fleeting shadow passed over Rey's face, and, down-hearted, Kylo thought that it was a bad idea to mention the Sith, to utter the blasted family name and all the more to delude himself into trying to guess her reaction. Just for a minute he forgot that he was her enemy number one. Ren tortured and murdered her friends, he couldn't cause anything but disgust in Rey. And then he felt a surge of fresh hatred for the girl who took possession of his will.

The Supreme Leader of a powerful galactic regime, who had surpassed and destroyed all his teachers, was rapidly turning into an insecure teenager, vulnerable and soft. He couldn't let that happen but didn't want to endure being constantly aroused in her presence.

Now it was made clear to Ren that the only way out would be **to fuck** the girl without delay. After all, he should've been honest with himself, he came here _to do just that_ , not to pry information out of the Resistance. Kylo would have preferred Hux and the company to handle such matters. No one, not even he, could forbid himself to satisfy his natural instinct. The most important thing for the sick person is to admit that he's sick. That is definitely the first step on the road to recovery. Unless, of course, the disease is not terminal...

His masters, the light one and the dark one, crammed him with the importance of purity for the benefit of the fighting efficiency. Now Ren was ready to renounce them both and accept the emperor, who has been killed thirty years before his birth, as his main tutor because Palpatine's advice was totally in line with his own desires. It was also quite in the spirit of the Sith, among whom the emperor was one of the greatest. So, having considered all this, Kylo no longer felt himself weak, especially when he realized that he couldn't do without violence, because he couldn't count on Rey's reciprocity.

Filled with renewed resolve, he took a step towards the girl, noticing with satisfaction how the pupils of her eyes widened, responding to his movements. However, to his surprise, she did not budge. Despite being painfully hard, Kylo focused and, using the Force, surrounded Rey with his energy field without touching her. Not a single muscle on his face flinched as he slid his invisible hand over her shoulder and hair. The girl turned back sharply, trying to fathom what was happening - she knew that they were alone in the cell. And when she figured out, who was touching her, Rey looked at Kylo in amazement. But she defied his expectations again and didn't resist.

Kylo stretched out his hand a little and wrapped a Force loop around her waist, thinking about how pleasanter it was to embrace than to strangle. Then he gently pulled her to himself, and the girl turned out to be in his arms. He hugged her tightly, _hoping_ that now she would definitely try to break free, but Rey surprised him for the third time in a row. As soon as their thighs touched, he pressed his heated flesh into her soft body, trying to find at least some deliverance from the pulsation, bursting his groin, and could no longer maintain an impassive countenance.

Flickering the eyelids, Ren closed his eyes, exhaled a loud breath, almost next to a moan, and threw back his head slightly. His emotions were straddling between shame and amazement. If this activity was always so sweet, then what a fool he was when he denied himself. But for the bliss to last, he actually needed to see Rey, and Kylo greedily looked at the girl.

She couldn't miss how switched-on he was, unless she was an absolute novice in these matters - his hardened penis had been pressed right into her belly. And Kylo noticed, the girl understood everything, because naturally she became embarrassed, but it didn't stop her from being interested in all that was happening between them. Her cheeks gathered color, her mouth parted. Rey watched attentively how he was reacting on her closeness, and seemed to be listening to her own body. He wouldn't be surprised if he was the only novice in this cell.

When Kylo grabbed her chin in search of the longed-for spot on her neck throbbing in time with his frantic heartbeat, she obediently bowed her head and patiently waited for the touch. With trembling fingers, he ripped the collar of her cape and pressed his lips to her bare skin. Under his kiss, Rey stiffened, and Kylo thought in horror at the back of his mind, that now she would definitely wrest out. But instead, with delight, he felt her hand on the back of his head, playing with his soft, heavy locks. He smiled, sensing her salty taste on his tongue, and then he heard her half-whisper:

“I'll do anything you want me to.”

Ren smiled even wider and purred, without stopping his caresses:

“I just... want us to be together, have a good... time.”

“Fine, I'll try to make it... good,” Rey said with sudden hopelessness to her voice.

Kylo frowned and with some difficulty interrupted his doings to look at her face. The girl was crying silently. The tears had already lined her cheeks with long, shiny ribbons. Cry always came so easy to her.

“You'll try?..” he repeated after her, puzzled. “What does that even mean?”

“You… murdered…” Rey said, mixing each word with unconcealed sob, not daring to meet his gaze, “You killed them… Han and Luke... They both died because of you… You tried to kill your mother and... Finn...” here she looked at him pleadingly: “But I'll do everything, everything that you desire, if there is at least one chance... to bring you back...”

Kylo's arousal began to blow off like a busted weather balloon. He pushed Rey away from him and wiped her trace from his lips with the back of the hand. He almost wanted to cry after her, but he didn't want to give her such pleasure. Instead he took his head in his hands and burst out laughing. He was a double fool when he thought that she liked what he was doing while in truth she gathered all her will to endure his touches.

“To bring me back where?!” he shouted, grimacing with disgust and not waiting for her response said indignantly: “I'M ALREADY HERE!!! You're still trying, out of your scavenger habit, to fix everything that falls into your hands. I don’t need fixing! My defects make me who I am!”

“It's all just cracks… They cannot be part of your destiny… If there is even a faint hope that I can turn you to the Light… I know you still have it in you… I'll do anything you wish…” Rey droned monotonously with the look of a martyr.

Kylo shrunk from her towards the opposite wall and slid down heavily on the floor. This drama tired him. That's why she was so abiding with him. Pretending to be so righteous she was ready to sacrifice herself and lay down with the murderous monster. Virtuous only in name, the girl was acting like a whore. But the price was too high, her favors couldn't cost that much...

“Yes, I killed them,” he agreed in an exhausted voice. “But not you... If I wanted to, you wouldn't have survived Starkiller or Snoke. If I wanted to, you would be dead ten times already. Because I just...”

But Kylo didn't have time to finish. The hatch started to move and opened.

Ren stood up, all intent, and discarded the sentimental thoughts at once. With an imperceptible movement, he straightened his saber and glanced at the girl. Not because he was somehow worried about her state of mind after their... talk, but in order to prepare and assess their mutual chances. The adrenaline in his blood and an open cell instantly turned him into a fighting machine, set up for effective actions against a possible enemy.

Of course Kylo wasn't going to leave Rey here. As much as she pissed him off right now, he felt that their conversation had just begun. To his satisfaction, she hastily wiped away her tears and also gathered up. However the look that she gave him was a storm warning for Kylo. He was under no illusions about how heroic the girl could be if he needed her help. The exchange of silent pleasantries with Rey and tactical calculations didn't even take a couple of seconds, both were ready for a sudden intrusion. Or a rescue...

Two with the blaster rifles atilt appeared in the doorway – a thuggish-looking man and a gloomy young Nimbanel. They ran an eye over the cell, after which the alien took up a post outside, while the man stopped at the threshold, both without uttering a word. Kylo was finally convinced that these were just guards when he saw that they were accompanying another visitor. As soon as the third one went inside, Ren involuntarily looked at the girl and, as if in a mirror, saw the reflection of his own astonishment on her face. It was clear that Rey recognized him as well.

It was a protocol droid, completely similar to his mother’s C-3PO, but with bright red plating. However, as soon as the communication module of the robot turned on, the similarities with Threepio ended. The cell resounded with the well-regulated female voice with the most polite intonations to it. Too composed for always nervous Threepio. Kylo began to suspect that this was a different model altogether.

“Allow me to welcome you, sir, young lady, aboard our ship,” the droid gave her first nod to Kylo and the second one to Rey. “TC-41 at your service. The captain asks you to proceed to the apartments more befitting your status. I am here to escort you there.”

Ren watched Rey who was unable to hide her feelings as skillfully as, he hoped, he did it. He tried with one glance to make her understand what he wanted from her now – silence, finally, and equanimity, befitting her 'status'.

“It's good to hear that your captain... saw reason,” he said carefully choosing his words and asked, caustically copying the droid's courtesy, “but allow me to ask you what made him change his mind and let us go?”

“Oh, no,” with off-key mechanical cheer replied TC-41 and, humming with servomotors, made a sign of negation with her head. “His only order was to transfer you to a room more convenient for the further stay, that's all. I'm afraid there is no talk about your release yet.”

“Why is he bothering himself with us? He won't benefit from keeping us captive,” Kylo chuckled, but immediately turned cold upon receiving the droid's response.

“I think that the situation will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction very soon. The captain has already contacted the gentlemen who vouched for you, Master Solo,” TC-41 said with the same cheerful mood in her voice, “and of course for your wife, Lady Allana. They are about to arrive.”

When Ren painted worrying pictures of what pirates could do to them, he was making up. They couldn't contact anybody who could vouch for them, because such people simply did not exist, as well as the persons whom Rey and Kylo claimed to be. Therefore, he couldn't stop the stunned question:

'Whaa-at?!”

The droid turned to him and silently directed her unblinking round eyes at Ren. He knew that 3PО was equipped with a more or less accurate emotion analyzer, but Kylo was not sure how advanced the technical characteristics of the feminine-programmed TC-series were. She could be woman-like shrewd. Just in case, he tried to pull himself together and exclaimed with a feigned affront:

“Vouched for us? That's brilliant! Apparently my word is not enough for the captain. And he still owes me an explanation, who's keeping me and my wife on this cruiser and why? And our starship, of course,” he added quickly, meeting Rey's worried gaze.

“Unfortunately, I am not authorized to give you this information as of yet,” TC-41 chirped, and approached the exit. “Would you follow me please?”

This time, Kylo and the girl were not handcuffed. However the guards accompanying them kept a sharp eye on the prisoners and held them at the points of their rifles, until they reached and entered a spacious cabin.

The room was furnished with much more comfort than the previous place of their confinement. One of its walls was fitted with viewports, wide and clean. It felt like they were standing on a balcony that opened right into the outer space. In the middle of the cabin there was a large bed. As soon as Kylo saw it, he realized how tired he was. The sight of snacks, fruits and drinks on the table by the bed caused a rumbling in his stomach, so loud and demanding that everyone else looked at him in surprise.

“Here you can eat and restore your strength,” the droid said civilly, as though speaking with his hunger.

The hatch in the far corner of the cabin rose as if on signal, revealing a fully equipped fresher. The accommodation really had everything for a comfortable stay. But then Kylo saw utterly dismayed Rey. Before that, even in a prison cell, she didn't look so scared. Entering the role of a caring husband, he approached her and embraced the girl.

She was ready to blow a fuse any moment. Ren felt the whirlwinds in the Force, which she created by her feverish thoughts, that were flying from one to another. She didn't even try to hide them. Sensing his touches, instead of calming down Rey flinched, all her muscles tensing. However Kylo played the scene to the end.

“Please give our thanks to the captain for his generosity, TC-41,” Ren said with a diligent half-smile. “But I also urge you to kindly tell him that it's not necessary to keep us under lock and key. We're just harmless travelers,” he swallowed the ambition of the Supreme Leader and added: “As soon as he lets us go, we will disappear. For parts unknown. I guarantee that the coordinates of this ship will be nuked from the naviсomp of the Star Princess once and for all.”

The droid left these cowardly assurances unanswered, bowed to both of them, and went out into the passageway. Before locking the hatch behind her, she turned again and said in the same impartial tone of a trained machine:

“I have no doubt you'll be pleased with the captain’s wise decision and usefully spend the time until your friends arrive. Get some rest.”

For obvious reasons Kylo couldn't hold Rey any longer. She broke away from him, and sprung to the exit. But she was just a second late, the door closed already. All that was left for her was to thrash against its smooth metal surface with her fists.

“Open up! Right now!! I wanna see the captain!! Let me out!!”

Ren gave an exasperated sigh. He wasn't going to set the girl at rest again, so he left her to run amok to her heart's content and walked over to the table. From one of the plates he took a small piece of some smoked meat and dug his teeth into it. It's origin, unknown to Ren, didn't prevent it from looking and smelling very appetizing, and the meat really turned out to be quite edible. Inspired by his first success, Kylo sat down on the bed and pulled the whole table close to him, intending to satisfy his hunger properly.

The intake of meals never interfered with Ren's thought process. From an early youth, he got accustomed to the austere conditions of the distant missions, when he had to eat quick and dirty in the most inappropriate places, between armed offensives and the torture of prisoners, between conflict and death. And now he began to analyze the conversation with the robot quite reflexively, chewing his food.

It didn't escape him how carefully the droid avoided any names in her speech other than those which they had told them to cover themselves. He still didn't know neither the title of the ship, the name of the captain nor the reason why the Falcon was captured. It looked like they were tracked down. He didn't believe that the meeting of two ships was accidental. And the bad feeling that he had already seen the face of the leader somewhere didn't leave Ren. There was something familiar about these features. Then again the mention of some mysterious friends that were coming to get Rey and Kylo was worrying enough.

The girl finally stopped banging at the door and started nervously pacing the room. From time to time she glanced at Ren champing serenely.

“I didn't understand a word of what this Teecee had been blabbering here,” she said with beginning of hysteric in her voice. “And you... You didn't try to get us out again! There were only two of them! What stopped you this time?!”

Kylo tossed the bone picked bare into a corner and scanned the plate in front of him in search of new victim.

“Got hungry,” he said phlegmatically and, taking from the table a jug with some liquid, had a sip straight from its neck.

The salty meat had awakened a strong thirst in him, and he enjoyed the taste of pure water that happened to be inside the bottle. Only then he resumed his explanations:

“And I want to know where all of this is going.”

“She said somebody vouched for us,” Rey stared at Kylo with wide eyes. “Who could've vouched **for us**?! And she called you Solo, and me Allana, in complete earnest!.. They expecting the arrival of our friends! This is some kind of nonsense!”

“It's either one or the other,” Ren began to think aloud, licking his oily fingers in between words: “Either he figured out who we were and is playing some strange game of his, or someone actually contacted him and confirmed our legend. Aren't you interested to know whether it will be the first or the second?” he asked the girl and reached for one more portion of meat.

Rey came closer and he saw her eyes fill with tears again.

“But Poe... He's there, with them. Every minute of delay threatens him with death, understand?!” she cried, clenching her fingers convulsively.

He gave her an angry smirk and roughly jerked her down by the hand, sitting next to him on the bed:

“If you don’t stop talking about Dameron and crying all the time, I’ll strangle you for sure. Do you want to win me over to your side? Will you do whatever I want? Then eat!”

“I won’t be able to swallow even a crumb,” Rey muttered miserably.

“Were you my... apprentice, now you would end up with a disciplinary for wasting time and resources!” Kylo snapped. “If we can't get out right now, all other opportunities we should use as efficiently as possible.”

He furiously pushed a dish with fruits towards her and put down a glass of water in front, hitting it so loudly on the table that the girl shuddered. But the next minute she looked at the food more deliberately, then timidly picked up the green plump fruit and took a bite. She fastidiously refused the meat Kylo offered her, shaking her head, but drank the water to the bottom. When he was full and satisfied that Rey came to her senses, Ren got up and walked to the door of the fresher, starting to take off his jacket.

Wiping the juice from her chin with her mouth full of fruit flesh Rey sarcastically asked him:

“So efficiently that now you are prepared to go have a wash, aren't you?”

Returning her taunt he answered:

“Perhaps it's not the custom to keep your body clean on Jakku, I know there is a shortage of water... and manners... on this planet. Or maybe withdrawal from bath is a part of the local scavengers ritual... In any case, I was brought up a little differently.”

“Oh, hubby,” the girl suddenly addressed him with a sugary voice and battered her eyelashes, “won't you be a good boy and allow your dirty, ill-mannered little wifie to go shower first?”

Kylo froze for a moment with his mouth ajar, then frowned and turned away. The words, and most importantly, the girl's tone had again triggered something inside him, and he realized that if he looked at her now, he wouldn't be able to get rid of obsessive thoughts. He suddenly clearly understood that this mechanism was activating independently from his will. Kylo waved his hand and simply said:

“Go ahead.”

When she disappeared in the fresher, Ren walked to the viewport, trying not to fantasize about what was happening behind the hatch. The outer space that opened up to him was deserted and seemed motionless. Even if they were moving now, then with the slowest speed, which could be explained by only one thing - they were waiting for someone. It was useless to guess who.

He thought of Rey again, trying to sort out his own feelings for her, but the main thing was that he couldn't take them under control, especially when she was close. And whether she was the sole reason for it, he already doubted.

There was something self-operative about the unambiguous way Rey's presence hab been influencing on him, how abruptly, as if on command, his body was reacting to her. As though something outside of Ren's control was making him to react that way. Or someone... This theory made everything seem easier and more complicated at the same time. It was easier to cope with the fact that he desperately desired his mortal enemy, but he dreaded to think that he had been controlled by someone.

Then Ren noticed the reflection of the girl in the viewport glass. She reappeared in the room again, thank the creators, fully dressed. However Rey wasn't as tightly combed as usual. Her wet hair was undone and hung over her shoulders. Kylo had never seen the girl without those ridiculous buns on her head, a pair of loose strands on the temples were his scarce rewards, and now he feared that he couldn't stand the sight. Without turning to look at her, he walked past, saying only:

“Try not to do something stupid, I'll be quick.”

He went into the fresher and closed it, then calmed his breath, but immediately after shuddered again in fright. From the opposite wall, faced with the length-size mirror, a stranger was staring at him. All that was left from Kylo Ren was his scar snaking across the cheek and disheveled black hair. His father's clothes changed him completely. It was no wonder that the girl pestered him with talks about the Light side - he had almost turned back into Ben Solo.

Ren hastily started to pull off his shirt and trousers, with great effort willing himself not to tear them in horror. Having got rid of his clothes, Kylo turned on the turboshower and entered under its warm streams. But then his attention was attracted by some small shiny object lying on a shelf by the mirror. He wiped the water off his face and gave it a second glance. It was a device for determining the Force level, which he himself fetched with him to the mission. Ren still was able to wonder how it got here - last time he saw the cylinder inside his backpack, on the Falcon - when suddenly the world before his eyes began to melt, and he lost consciousness.


	9. He Takes And He Gives (XXX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the most interesting introductions in the Star Wars mythology is the concept of a Force Dyad, the special bond between Ren and Rey. Dyad is a word from an ancient Sith prophecy similar to the Jedi prophecy of the Chosen One. From the prophecy came the "Rule of Two" - the basis of the hierarchy of the Sith Order, which says that there should be only two rulers, the Master and the Apprentice. Perhaps this principle was incorporated into the teachings of the Sith specifically to achieve the Dyad.
> 
> If we ask ourselves whether someone can have sex with the help of the Force, then we can answer it this way. The Jedi control the Force with discipline and concentration. Flooding one's mind with emotions like lust and anger weakens Jedi or even could turn them to the Dark side. The Sith, on the other hand, are driven by such strong, uncontrollable feelings. The Star Wars movies were aimed at younger viewers even before Disney purchased it, but it's possible to assume that followers of the Dark side have bizarre sex all the time because it only makes them stronger. That is, the Jedi will not abuse it, while other cults of the Force will be more liberal with the issue. Telekinesis is as useful as it can be imagined. When a lonely Sith is using a mind control on the victim of his desires, it is similar when someone is being roofied, only the first method is much cheaper and faster. © (Tumblr)

Kylo realized that he was lying on something soft, still smelling with the artificial freshness of a laundry detergent and already warmed by his body heat. Over the past few days, he hadn't the opportunity to make himself so comfortable. He tried to get up, but abandoned this venture, leisurely stretched his limbs and relaxed again, feeling absolute bliss. Procrastination was so pleasant that Ren smiled with just the tips of his lips, because he was too lazy to even smile properly. And everything would have been just perfect, if not for one annoying inconvenience - a languid weariness, similar to the glitterstim hangover with a hint to become a full-blown headache later, had been gently sucking the back of his head.

He had to use all his will to open his eyes and then with the same effort, grimacing and winking away the sand of sleep, he focused his vision. He was lying in bed, deeply sank in the softest of mattresses. The room was immersed in semi-darkness, its overhead lamps were turned off. The only faint light was pouring from the open fresher, and the stars were coldly glimmering in the wide viewports. Over the years spent on starships Kylo could no longer discern the noise of the drives or the hum of the gravitational field, so he immediately heard someone's regular breathing nearby.

He raised on the elbows and was surprised to notice that he was half dressed – the trousers were on him again although he clearly remembered that he took them off. But Ren didn't have time to ponder over it. He turned his head and went numb – beside him Rey slept serenely.

Her hair, still slightly wet, was scattered over the pillow with big brown curls. Her bare shoulders were seen from under the blanket that was covering her, and Kylo thought desperately that might be the girl wasn't wearing any clothes. He averted his gaze and breathed convulsively, then sat up and, unable **not to look** any longer, turned back to her.

As he moved, the blanket slid down and exposed Rey's left breast, so well-rounded and seductive, adorned with a small, swollen nipple that Kylo's breath failed. His whole world right now was concentrated in this breast, he even saw how it trembled softly in time with the beating heart underneath.

At that moment Ren began to feel his own reaction to what he was seeing. Increased pressure in his lungs and in the head. The urge to touch the girl with his hand, lips, and with the whole body. And already poorly controlled need to thrust his hardening dick into her. He tried to cope with the arousal the usual way - through the pain. But when he put his hand inside hastily unbuttoned fly and touched himself, he uttered a quiet 'mmmm' through compressed lips, heavily jerked his hips and thought cowardly that this time he was not ready to inflict injury upon himself. This suffering had to be resolved differently in order for Kylo's obsessions to release him.

Unassertive at first soon the motions of his hand became more rhythmic and picked up pace. His breathing quickened, preparing to turn into moans any moment now. Through the back of his mind a disturbing thought flashed about how strange everything was – he awoke in bed half-dressed, the girl lied next to him completely naked. Ren didn't quite remember what had happened after he decided to take a shower, and in a state of animal-like excitation he wasn't able to think straight. One breast was already not enough for him to support this flame – if he didn't permit himself to touch Rey, at least he had the right to look at her! Kylo pulled off the blanket wildly, exposing her chest and belly. And... woke her up.

She quickly looked around, stared at the scene on the bed and fell dumb in horror. He immediately saw the whole picture, reflected on her stunned face. Ren, with a hand in his pants, with swollen veins on his forehead and neck, his twisted gaping mouth glistening with saliva, had been devouring her naked body with the eyes clouded with lust. Rey blushed and reached for something to cover her nakedness, but... Kylo had already decided everything.

She could learn his every trick – get into his mind, dig through his memories, take away his weapon with only the will of her thought and defeat him in a saber fight. Almost in a minute she could borrow from him any Force power that he had been mastering during several years, and succeed in it, there and then. But Rey could do nothing about the fact that Ren was physically stronger than her, heavier in weight and had a faster reaction better trained simply because he had begun to fear for his life a little bit earlier than she.

With the agility of a sand panther, Kylo groped for Rey's ankle, grabbed it and pulled the girl to him offhandedly, then climbed on top and immobilized her, fixing her wrists to the bed with strong hands. She winced, and Ren loosened his grip. Actually, he didn't want to hurt her. When he was sure that she wasn't going anywhere, he allowed himself to enjoy the position. Kylo felt all the outlines of her body underneath him. Her sharp hard nipples were scratching his chest while her cool skin chilled his fever a little. When Rey stirred, trying to get out, moving her hips, arching her back, Kylo's sensations reached a new level of happiness. He even rolled his eyes, so he only heard her ordered him in a strangled voice, but with a demanding tone:

“You will release me. Let me go right now!”

Kylo looked at her more soberly and saw that she was using mind control, so focused was her face. He felt her presence inside him, but it was feeble, as if she was trying to manipulate him from another star system. However, some part of him - above the waist - even wanted to obey, but the animal desire was much more intensive. And Ren thought of the strange irony - the battle was still hers, Rey had already convinced him, only in the exact opposite - so that he wouldn't let her go in any case.

“Didn't Skywalker tell you that the Force can have a strong influence only on the those weak of mind? I wouldn't hurt your feelings like that,” he addressed her as calmly and gently as possible. “And you, apparently, have low opinion of me...”

The girl stopped her trying with a frustrated expression. However, as soon as Kylo leaned over to kiss her, she managed to move her head away, so that he met Rey's ear instead of her lips. This angered him, but his hands were busy, and he used the Force to turn her face to him. Rey grinned mirthlessly and said in a voice breaking with agitation:

“Oh, yes, you would never hurt m...”

Here in mid-word, not letting her finish – that was the only way, he hoped, so she wouldn't shut her lips stubbornly - Kylo pressed against her open mouth, remembering all the kisses that he had ever experienced. Her breath burned him. Rey tried to push his greedy tongue out, moaning in displeasure when his three-day stubble scratched her cheek, but all was in vain. Ren was fulfilling his dream and wasn't going to give up.

However her resistance eased gradually, as well as the roughness of his touches, and the kiss from struggle turned into caress. Kylo let go of the girl's hands and stopped crushing her with his weight. Taking a breath, he pulled away from her lips and went down, kissing her chin and cheekbones, then ran his hand along her body. To his surprise, when he freed her, Rey remained lying, her cheeks glowing and her lips swollen and twitching nervously. He saw that her eyes were dry, but sparkled like two kyber crystals.

Great Sith know, all he wanted right now was to fuck a girl. He didn't understand how he lasted that long, he was practically tingling. Every look at her, her every motion pushed him closer and closer to the edge. But he wanted to fuck this particular girl, and her resentment haunted his mind. Rey was worthy of at least some explanation before she would become his. He got off her and lay down beside, leaving his hand on her thigh just to be sure. Rey didn't move, despite the fact that she was visibly embarrassed by her naked body. Her acquiescence reassured Kylo.

“Can't you see that you and I are connected? That we are destined to be together?” he said, looking at her. “In the Darkness, forever... Rey...”

She jerked when she heard his voice, his words and her name instead of the already familiar "scavenger" or "rebel scum". He also became agitated. He addressed her by her name for the first time in a long while.

“When I wanted you to be with me,” Ren continued, “it seemed that I should lure you over to my side as an apprentice, as a warrior or an ally in taking dominion over of the Galaxy. But now it became clear – we must strengthen our connection...” here Kylo stopped talking for a moment, because he also had to find the heart to say this, then bent down to her body and added, almost in a whisper, “as lovers...”

He finally figured it out and spoke quite sincerely. Reacting to his words and lips, which suddenly closed on her nipple, the girl noisily draw a breath through the clenched teeth, but endured. A new wave of exhilaration washed over Kylo, forcing his already hard cock to give a sweet start and tense even more, but he also endured. He noticed her averted gaze and her fingers gripping the sheets with all their might. It reminded Ren of himself, as if the girl, by sheer willpower, was denying herself to look at him and touch him back.

“I told you,” she said dully, “I'll do anything you ask...”

“Yes, your sacrifice, Rey,” Kylo smiled, caressing the sounds of her name with his tongue once more, and added seriously, “It only masks your collapse. Our intimacy will be a step to the Dark side. For both of us.”

The girl looked defiantly into his eyes and smiled too.

“No,” she said. “This weakness will be your salvation!”

He felt the anger welling up in him in response to her over-confidence, but Kylo held back his emotions with an effort. The girl curiously watched the echoes of the inner struggle on his face. Taking his revenge, Kylo leaned over her pink breast and, breathing hotly on her skin, replied:

"We'll see. You won't be able to deceive me. Remember, I can read your thoughts...”

His hand slid down her belly to the neat triangle of hair between her legs, and Ren noted with pleasure how goose bumps ran down Rey's skin. However, her doubts had disappeared, she also made a decision. The girl parted her legs just a couple of centimeters, but that was enough to let Ren's fingers in.

He was... estranged from his parents and didn't communicate with his age mates, there was no one to tell him about 'birds and bees'. The sensations were new to him. He acted on a pure instinct and with the fantasy of a celibate who was over-excited.

To the touch this place appeared to be hot, moist, unexpectedly deep and tight at the same time. Kylo would be surprised if he even fitted in there. But this could be verified the only way, and so with trembling hands he pulled off his trousers. Now he was triple naked - he had no clothes on, his body was not hidden by the darkness, and he was aroused to the limit. Rey glanced quickly at his victoriously protruding dick and looked away biting her lips.

As he was positioning himself on top between her legs, Kylo saw the girl put on a brave face. She was trying not to show him how afraid she was. No doubt she kept in mind her bright mission. He wanted to say that he didn't wish to hurt her, he wanted to hug her, kiss her and soothe her, but her arrogant words still rang in his ears. After all, one couldn't get along without some pain in this matter; Kylo knew that at least.

And he just penetrated her... When he got inside with some effort, a couple of impulsive, ruthless thrusts were enough for him to deflower the girl, and a dozen more to come himself. With sweet jerks Kylo spilled into Rey years of abstinence, which teachers tormented him with, and lust that she herself fostered in him. Ren had waited so long and endured so obediently. What a hungry boy he'd been...

When Kylo's passionate convulsions subsided, the girl carefully got out from under him, laid down beside and bashfully covered herself. She didn't cry, although she looked shocked and scrupulously avoided looking him in the eye. He wiped himself using the blanket and, in confusion, saw a light trail of blood on the fabric feeling an unexpected prick of conscience, joined by a strange irritation.

Squeezed by the tight, hot vagina, Ren came glaringly and intensely. He had never experienced such releases during the rare moments of self-pleasure, and it was not just that his dick was inside a woman's body. And not even because of the fact that he no longer needed to fantasize neither the naked breasts bouncing from his motions, the wet sounds of lovemaking nor the ringings of slaps of bare skin on skin.

It was all here, Rey was under him, around him and only for him. Whatever had made her do it, she gave in to him of her own free will. And he came not only from the acuteness of his physical sensations, but also experiencing satisfaction from the thought that all her Jedi righteousness and Light didn't help the girl to resist him. She turned into the character of his dirty fantasies, which became real with her help.

But it was possible to look at the situation from another angle entirely. Rey was probably doing that right now. What if it was Kylo who had given in, what if it really was his weakness? He had been subduing his flesh for so long, and now suddenly went rogue just **for her sake**? He could have gotten any girl in the Galaxy. After all, there were those who would give up a lot in order to be with him, and maidenhood wasn't the only thing that they would gladly sacrifice. But his blood boiled only when he was looking at **this one**. So his words that they were destined to become lovers turned from seductive speeches into prophetic ones.

This annoyed Kylo. He didn't want anyone, let alone Rey, to dictate his fate. He destroyed everyone who pretended to this right. He will have to destroy her too. But, please, a little bit later. Having satisfied his first hunger, he realized that he wasn't yet able to end their... interaction.

Rey was set to become his escapement from the blues. She didn't have the right to express her own wishes, being just a hole into which he now had been pouring his cum! And she should've liked it unconditionally, or rather, he shouldn't have cared if she liked it or not. But Ren became even more annoyed when he understood that he couldn't just use her. It was not enough! He didn't want her indifferent submission, he wanted her _to have feelings for him_. He didn't have to be her heroic deed while she shouldn't have become his toy.

Rey's voice snapped Kylo out of his thoughts.

“I want to get dressed, I need my...”

He quickly looked at the girl, who still didn't meet his gaze, and thought that he was probably ready to try...

“No,” Ren interrupted her firmly, moving closer and throwing the covers off her, “not yet.”

Their faces were very close. Now the girl had no chance to look away, and she stared at Kylo with a worried expression.

“Didn't you... get what... you wanted?” Rey asked, blushing at the mere memory.

“And you?” suddenly surprising himself, he answered with a question. “Have you got it?”

Her forehead wrinkled, as Rey was looking at his face, trying to puzzle out what he was up to. But Kylo already bent down to her lips and started to kiss her. He wasn't gentle or particularly skillful, he just did what he longed for, wetly and persistently, as if provoking her. And as soon as he groped for and began to squeeze and pinch her swollen nipple with his fingers, the girl shivered at this touch, arched her back and joined the kiss with reluctance.

Ren took her hand and without looking put it on his crotch – his musings and her intimacy made him hard again. Touching his throbbing flesh, Rey moaned out pathetically as if burned, removed her hand and, resting her palms on Kylo's chest, tried to push him away. But the motion remained just a weak gesture, as if she had checked herself, awkwardly starting to suck his tongue, with which he wildly ravaged her mouth.

He teared himself away from her lips and licked his fingers thoroughly. Carefully watching Rey's reaction, Kylo spread girl's knees using the Force. The sound of blood in his ears seemed like a small hurricane, but he concentrated on what he was about to do. First, he entered her with his Force projection, and then he touched her with his hand.

No one taught him that, but Kylo, who had become a man half an hour ago, was too preoccupied with satisfying his awakened basic instinct and prurient curiosity, and therefore acted extremely ingenious. Moreover he had an intuitive awareness that he had to make Rey come. She needed to understand that they were equal, they both gave and took. Without taking his greedy gaze from her face, catching any change in her expression, he began to move his fingers and _his intent_ , gently stroking her inside and out.

At first the girl tried to lie motionless, having sunk her nails into the mattress like a frightened animal. She was just biting her kiss-torn lips and looking at the ceiling. He would've been stupid if he hadn't took advantage of their amazing bond, and so Kylo peeped into her mind. Rey was so confused that she didn't even hide her thoughts. After that he smiled and quickened his movements. He became more daring, harder and harder pressing his thumb to the engorging bud at the center of her soft leaking folds.

Rey closed her eyes, uttered something inarticulate, spread her legs even wider and moved towards his fingers. She covered her breasts with her hands, and there was nothing shy about this - Rey was actually fondling herself. His motions became almost a blur when she abruptly looked at him with eyes full of speechless entreaty, shame and desire, then froze, slammed her thighs shut involuntarily and squinted her eyes, shuddering all over and dewing Ren's palm with her thick juices.

With strong hands, Kylo harshly turned Rey towards him and slid inside, actually feeling her inner muscles contracting. This time he lasted much longer and came even more abundantly, grabbing the girl's lips with his own, cupping her breasts, scanning her emotions with greedy Force tentacles and projecting his own delight, that was exploding his temples and knocking tears out of his eyes. She climaxed once more around him making Kylo completely blissed-out with the fact. What a hungry boy and girl they've both been!..

Exhausted, Kylo sank down on Rey. Trying to quieten his frantic heartbeat, he fell still. A draft from the air vents chilled his sweaty back and wet face. He shivered softly as the girl ran her fingers through his tousled hair, and with a vague despair realized that no one, not even himself, could now force him to give her up. It seemed that in the heat of passion she called him Ben, and more than once. Even if the name was someone else's, her smile and her feelings belonged only to Ren.

Now he was ready to forgive Rey anything, if she would allow him to love her like this every night. And let all the Jedi and Sith rules go into a black hole! With a relaxed smile, he thought that if one of his former masters saw them on that bed, they wouldn't just reprimand Ren. He would have been banned from further training forever.

“Use of the Force for such obscenities is unacceptable! A chastity is a pass to equilibrium,” the words of Skywalker emerged from his memory. “Physical pleasures distract from the main thing and weaken the Jedi.”

“Young fool! Indulging the filthy scavengers in such way is unworthy of the descendant of the great Darth Vader!" he imagined Snoke's ominous baritone.

“I promised you, she’s ready... And you did just great, my boy,” Kylo heard a blood-chilling and yet caressing voice right above his ear, and sprang up as if scalded, wildly looking around.

The voice and the words were not a figment of his imagination, he actually heard them, distinctly and clearly, even accompanied by the echo of a strained breathing with a slight wheeze to it. However there was no one but them in the half-dark room. Kylo got out of bed, giving rise to shyly curious gazes from Rey, who hadn't yet get accustomed to his broad-shouldered nakedness, and went to the entrance hatch to listen.

"Have you heard something?” he asked, anxiously turning to the girl.

She also got up, wrapped herself in a sheet, and went up to him:

“Heard something? No, no one, just you... And if... we're done... I want to...”

Kylo raised a finger in the air signaling her to be quiet, and once again listened to the silence outside the room. Perhaps he did imagine it after all. The voice sounded so loud that if it really belonged to a living being, and was not just his hallucination, the girl should have noticed it.

"Cut the phobium," he grumbled, finally paying attention to Rey and becoming perplexed by his nudity, "Of course we're not done! What was that, in your opinion, some connect-disconnect thing?.. Now we need to figure out how and in what capacity I'll present you to the First Order.”

Rey sighed and rolled her eyes:

“I don’t think it’s necessary to discuss it with nothing on, so please give me back my clothes.”

When both realized the meaning of phrases that they had exchanged, they exclaimed in the same confused tone, interrupting each other:

“What do you mean by presenting me to the Order?!”

“What makes you think that I have your clothes?!”

Making an impatient gesture Kylo allowed Rey to speak first.

“I woke up in bed... with you, stripped naked. I don’t recall undressing myself, ” she began, annoyed, rubbing her forehead with her palm, and then came closer to Ren: “I don’t know what you're up to, but if I end up in the hands of the Order, I'll be put to death. You of all people should know that.”

“Alright,” Kylo said conciliatory and gently took her by the elbows, “I am the Supreme Leader and I have the right to put a plug on any order any time I like...”

“Oh, to put a plug, eh?!” Rey laughed sardonically, not listening to his explanations. “Of course! So you could pull it out later, when your Supreme Leadership fucks rebel scavenger enough!..”

“Don't you get it, even after this?” Ren pointed out expressively at the messed up bed, he was beginning to get angry too, “That' not the case!”

“You jerked off all your brains into me, Ben Solo,” the girl blurted out in rage, boldly looking Kylo in the face, “if you think that I will abandon my friends and follow you to the First Order. Even after that!”

“Well then you probably damaged the head with my dick while I was pounding you after you spread your legs for me,” retorted Kylo, feeling injured for all his efforts, “if you decided that on your account I would resign my post and give up what I was planning to do for so long!”

“Now everything has fallen into place,” Rey said with a bitter chuckle with a promise of tears in her voice. “The prince and the beggar, as usual... I thought we should...” she cut herself off leaving her words dangling.

“That's right. We should be together,” Kylo finished her phrase forthright feeling guilt for his harshness and barely restrained himself from adding cowardly 'because it seems I can't live without you'.

Rey gave Ren a long look, but instead of deepening the argument reached out and brushed back the curl that fell over his eyes. Apparently, she had been gradually developing a fetish for his hair. Kylo put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, more than anything wanting to make it up to her. He bent down, intending to kiss her, and the girl stood on tiptoes, putting her hands on his shoulders. The sheet that was covering her fell to the floor and their naked bodies touched again. She leaned his head towards her and whispered into his ear, tickling it with her lips:

“You know what you have to do so we can be together. If you make this decision, I’ll help you. I’ll be there for you, promise.”

Ren exhaled loudly, realizing that words can be frightening and inspiring at the same time.

“If I am captured by the Resistance, I'll be put to death, you know that, right?” he muttered.

“Punishment awaits Kylo Ren, he is reaping the fruits of his actions,” Rey nodded. “But not Ben Solo...”

“And who do you think you were fucking today?” he asked with a sinking heart.

Instead of answering, the girl started to kiss him the first, but pulled away as soon as she felt that Kylo's dick reacted to the caress.

“Please, let me get dressed, I’m not ready to do it one more time,” Rey said in a pleading voice.

“Why do you keep repeating this?” he drawled with disappointment, releasing her from his arms, this time it definitely was Kylo Ren. “I don’t know where your rags are.”

Rey frowned a little offended.

“It doesn't make much sense. I’m sure that it was you who undressed me and put to bed!” she became silent for a moment and then, as if adding two and two together, said in amazement: “You poisoned me! I got out of shower, I put my clothes on, and then I… don't remember much... until I woke up in bed naked and you… half-naked… were jerking off your thing staring at me!”

Kylo snorted mockingly, but it didn't seem amusing to him. In fact it would've been funny if it wasn't so unsettling. The girl’s accusations struck a worrying note.

“Aah! So you think that it was like that... I can play this game too, you know? I entered the fresher and got my clothes off. You see, I was going to take a shower, and after that…” he paused and added with suspicion, “What if it was you who poisoned me? Because I also don't remember anything before I ended up in bed with you.”

Then he looked at the table by the bed, still cluttered with plates full of half-eaten food and empty water jug. Perhaps none of them were to blame for each other's strange memory lapses, and they became victims of their jailers. However Kylo hadn’t yet understood with what purpose. Being distracted by Rey's charms he lost a lot of valuable time. He approached the refresher's hatch and carefully peered into it. There was no one there, but the midi-chlorians level device was still lying on the shelf by the mirror. Trying to get at least some answers, Kylo went inside, grabbed it and stared at the screen.

The five-digit readings were not his - 20530. Ren had no doubt, not even for a second, that they were gathered when sampling Rey's blood. Had he now carefully examined her wrist, he would certainly find there an almost imperceptible injection mark. Kylo already turned to the exit to verify his guess, when suddenly he saw something that made him halt abruptly.

“I think I’ve f-found the clothes,” he shouted loudly enough for the girl to hear him from the room.

On the wall two impeccably ironed suits were hanging. On one of the shoulders there were his black surcoat, shirt and trousers, with his shiny polished boots and the saber beneath them. On the other there were women's underwear and a dress of the same black color, doubtlessly prepared for Rey.


	10. Chosen?..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t call love what he experiences in TLJ. It's an obsession. He is lonely: his parents left him, he was betrayed by his teacher, and new master mistreats him. And now Kylo thinks he has found someone who will understand and join him. In this regard, he sees Rey as a soul mate, with the same family problems and loneliness, just as powerful in using the Force. But there is no romance in his obsession yet. He is interested in luring the girl to his side and ruling the galaxy together, under his leadership. He has not yet learned selfless love; he still puts himself above and longs for domination. This can be seen in the scenes where he offers himself as her teacher, claims that Rey is no one, orders her to forget the past. In addition, he is emotionally vulnerable around her, and when Rey rejects him, he is lost and immediately attacks her viciously. To learn selfless love, he will have to redeem himself. He doesn't need to do good to get Rey back; he must do good for the sake of the good. © (collective authorship)
> 
> Thanks Flëur for inspiration

Kylo quickly put on the underpants and grabbed trousers. He was sure the clothing definitely was his own, although he didn’t understand how it ended up here. He left his garments at the bottom of the backpack, in the Falcon's crew cabin, where the wounded Dameron had been lying. And if they got his things from the locked ship's compartment then the pilot had also been found. It would have been better not to inform Rey about this yet so Kylo decided to keep his speculations to himself. Now he wouldn't be able to find enough patience within himself to listen to her overly caring wailings about her rebel buddy.

The mess he got himself into was no longer a pleasant and amusing adventure, except maybe for the last hour... Ren was tormented by hallucinations and voices that only he was able to hear and see. It would’ve been a lesser evil if they were just the product of his failing mental health. After he took the lead of the First Order, Kylo rarely got enough sleep thanks to the Resistance and his own narrow-minded subordinates. But he perfectly understood that their captivity and imprisonment had an ulterior motive, and so he decided to get ready for anything. If someone had been making him hints about something, he didn’t want to take any chances.

As soon as the girl appeared at the entrance to the refresher, considerately covered in a sheet once again, Kylo took woman's dress from the hanger, casually threw it to her and commanded:

“Dress yourself! And hurry up!”

She ran a hand over the delicate, expensive cloth and, screwing her face in revulsion, overwhelmed Ren with questions:

“What is it?.. What do they want from us?.. What do they want from me?.. That’s not mine! Where are my clothes?.. I want to get back my tunic...”

“What choice do you have?” Kylo asked shaking his head. “Either you'll put this dress on, or walk naked... By the Core, if you will, I won’t argue!.. But you should know that I’m an interested party...”

“It’s you... you set it all up!..” looking at him with stubborn suspicion Rey said bluntly.

“I have nothing to do with this,” Ren replied, frowning at the girl’s proficiency to start a quarrel. “But if I were you, I would take advantage of the offer.”

As if not hearing Kylo and giving him a searching look, the girl hissed:

“Everything here reeks of Sith abominations. And I know that your… ears grow on all of this, you can be sure of it!”

When she cast a meaningful glance at this distinguishing characteristic of his, Kylo involuntarily touched the hair as if to tidy it, and then immediately withdrew his hand and glared at Rey. Once jokes about this part of his exterior were so frequent and cruel that the movement to cover it became matrixed into his muscle memory. Everyone who allowed themselves to take such liberties with Ren fell quiet forever. And now it seemed like he obtained himself a personal laser brain all over again. He knew several proven ways to shut her up, but there was no time for that now.

“You’ll have to take my word, I have nothing to do with it,” he said coldly, trying to swallow the mockery, but couldn't resist: “What do you think I needed this kriffing sham for? To get you into bed? It turned out to be not so difficult. For the sake of some cooked-up mission you were not against certain abominations yourself!”

Having said this, he zipped up the fly on his trousers theatrically, giving her to understand that the discussion was over. But then he saw the girl's confused look and scarcely kept himself from comforting her. Overcoming the uneasy pause and his longing to rush to her with his arms open, Kylo grumbled apologetically:

“It will be difficult for me to protect you if needs be, if you stay wrapped up in a bed clothing. _I have very bad feeling about this_...”

“So you are going to protect me? Sounds a little bit over-confident for a man who lost the saber fight to a girl”, Rey said not wanting to give up.

“But this time I'm the only one with the saber,” Ren parried the mock, headfirst diving into the shirt. “Don't you wanna free your hands at least?” he asked, as she still was clumsily clutching the sheet under her arms. “Maybe then you’ll be some use instead of being a hindrance...”

His taunts finally worked, and Rey began to get dressed. Preoccupied with his own toilet, while he was pulling on his boots and adjusting the weapon on the belt, Ren had been distracted for a moment, but when he looked up again, the sight took his breath away. The mirror of the refresher reflected two persons in the outfits of the same black color. But if Kylo's surcoat with sleeves that covered almost half his palms was tightly buttoned up to the chin as usual, the girl's dress, despite its respectable floor length, could hardly be called modest or even decent.

A deep, almost to the very waist, v-shaped collar, a high thigh slit, and tight fit sleeveless silhouette left little for the imagination, but provoked other not so poetic emotions that Kylo immediately felt on himself. Loose brown hair and dark fabric of the dress emphasized the whiteness of the girl's skin. It was the case, when clothed she looked more desirable to him than naked. But as soon as he saw her unhappy expression he realized that Rey wasn’t glad with the transformation. She already opened her mouth to start complaining, but Kylo ordered her to be silent, pressing a finger to her lips. He heard the outer hatch open as someone entered the room.

While they were hidden from the intruders, Ren stepped up to the girl and drew her into embrace, noting with a secret pleasure that she no longer cowered back when he touched her. He bent down to her ear and whispered:

“Hold your lasers. Don’t act rashly, please. I’ll try to get us out of here.”

“You already promised it once,” the girl whispered back, looking at him anxiously. “And you still don’t have a plan.”

“Something will definitely turn up, you'll see,” he said, then brushed his lips through her hair and planted a few small kisses on her temple and cheek.

Kylo thought that cuddling her, he just wanted to give the girl some of his courage, to him Rey looked so lost and scared. In truth he needed these kisses even more than she. A melancholic thought pierced him that their sudden connection would soon be broken, and this closeness was the last thing left for him. He already missed like her breasts felt against his bare chest. Ren hesitated to let her go, and the girl, folding her palms on his chest, patiently withstood his caresses. Apparently, the imaginary enemy behind the wall was more terrible to her now than Kylo. He firmly took her hand and pulled her after him, going out into the room.

Near the bed still keeping the marks of their bodies, a utility droid was fidgeting, being urged on by the squeals of binary of TC-41. As soon as she spotted Kylo and Rey, she turned to them and swayed with her body, imitating a servile bow.

“I hope young master and mistress have rested,” she inquired politely, and Ren felt the girl's hand jerk in his. “Lady Allana, this black surcoat suits your husband so perfectly. I must say that sir Jonashe has an exquisite taste. And you look stunning. Master will be delighted with how kindly you received his gift.”

Ren didn’t have time to restrain her, the girl snatched her hand away from him and stepped to the droid.

“Tell your... master, that he left me no choice! My clothes disappeared after we were poisoned,'' Rey declared, stressing the words, and Kylo felt angry swirls in the Force coming from her.

“You will have the opportunity to express your gratitude to him in person, my lady, he is already here,” ignoring the shades of ill-concealed emotions dispassionately and civilly answered the droid and squeaked to the cleaner to hurry.

Then the hatch slid inside the wall, and, accompanied by armed thugs, the fair haired leader entered the cabin. He brought five times more guards with him than had been present when Kylo and Rey were transferred here from the prison cell, but most remained outside. Ren noticed a considerable crowd in the passageway – aliens and people, all sullen and wary. Seeing this company, Rey involuntarily stepped back, closer to Kylo. He gently took her hand in his again.

The leader looked around the room with a prying glance. He feasted his eyes upon the disturbed bed that still hadn’t been tidied up by the utility droid, and peeped into the neckline of Rey's dress. Kylo thought he appeared to be... satisfied with something? As though it was he who got himself a nice little fuck. Or rather... he looked like a scientist whose experiment succeeded... And Ren added to the girl’s angry Force presence his indignant one. As if sensing his growing rage, the leader looked directly at him and smiled.

There was nothing human in the smile – it was just a memorized muscle movement. His eyes were oozing with icy pleasure. Kylo remembered the black wall he had stumbled upon while probing leader’s mind. Undoubtedly, this man was no stranger to the ways of the Force, but Ren had never met such Force-sensitives before.

“That girl is a real star destroyer,” the leader turned to him. “I got to hand it to you, young Solo, you wasted no time, and rightly so!”

The man waved for the others to leave, and the hatch closed behind the guards. Kylo and Rey were left alone with the leader and the red-casing droid. Continuing his self-interrupted phrase, the man asked:

"Or would you prefer to be called Master Ren?"

Kylo and the girl had flinched almost in unison. He felt Rey’s hand instantly covered with panicky sweat. The storm of conflicting feelings burst from her into the Force.

“Oh, my child, not so loud, please,” the leader requested and winced, pretending to plug his ears. “Who would’ve thought that the only hope of the Light side is so easy to scare? But it’s for the best... If you were a tough nut, our plan wouldn't have succeeded. However it’s not your fault. You just didn’t have a proper master to teach you how to hide emotions effectively.”

“So you knew who we were all this time?” Ren asked gloomily.

“Your plan?!” the girl repeated after Kylo and cautiously looked at him sideways.

“You are so impulsive and so... pure, young Rey,” the leader said with a same otherworldly smile, leaving their questions unanswered. “You are easy to read, but difficult to manage. You so deeply believe in the freedom of choice, that it made you vulnerable. Oppositely, the thoughts of Master Ren are under the impenetrable protection, practiced by years of life under the yoke of sadistic teachers. But his weakness is his sophistication.”

Ren watched the man with growing concern and barely noticed how Rey withdraw her hand away from him. She no longer tried to speak, but Kylo haven't yet realized that her silence was far worse than the loudest screams or the most eloquent threats.

“Oh, I get it, my child,” the leader nodded, as if apologizing, “It's really hard to believe but you are the only one who was able to get into this great head, settle there, sprout. _But nothing comes from nothing._ Don't consider it just your ability. It was meant to be! 'And two opposites will arise, fighting each other every second and eternally supplementing each other.' We thought that it should be a master and an apprentice. For a long time we didn't understand that it meant Force-equal **lovers**.”

Kylo felt the girl's gaze on him and looked at her. The shadow of a terrible revelation in her eyes didn't bode well for him. Now he couldn't sense her through the Force, she cut herself off completely.

“However how difficult it was to bring you two together!” the leader exclaimed, smiling at some memory. “Your mutual hatred, your youthful exuberance in trying to destroy each other! We had to find cracks in them to connect you, when everything you did only divided you even more.”

Rey stared at the man, knitting her eyebrows and clenching her fists, and Ren tried through the Force to calm her down, gently touching her bare shoulder with his thought. She didn't even move, ignoring his benevolent attempt.

"It's well known, there's no one in the Galaxy more curious and inquisitive than Master Ren. He beheld the old truths, fathomed the ancient rituals and thought through the ways of the Force in theory and in practice. And we threw a new toy for his inquiring mind. Midi-chlorians... The Jedi myth, so successfully forgotten, served our purpose. And thus Master Ren became the first part of the prophecy.”

Kylo shook his head without saying a word, and the leader just laughed at that.

“A myth, not a fiction, young Kylo, not a fiction!.. Rey became the second part. She is as righteous as the Light side itself, the very soul of self-sacrifice. Rey was ready to descend into the Abyss to save a devious enemy... The powerful Force-users, a plus and a minus, our lovers!..”

Rey wasn't able to control herself again, and Kylo felt the bits and pieces of her confusion and rage. Were he the leader, right now he wouldn't have extolled her Light virtues so much - the scraps of her deadly intentions reached him.

“The lovers who will begin a new dynasty, from whose intercourse a new species of the Strong ones will appear. The lovers, whose firstborn child will rule the entire inhabited world and absorb all the power of the Force. Both sides will be subject to him, he won't belong to either of them!”

Rey breathed convulsively and loudly at these words, and Kylo noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. He wanted to scream that all this was a lie, stupid superstitions and granny's tales. He wanted to activate his lightsaber and attack the leader ruthlessly, but he was held back by... some greedy curiosity and one other selfish feeling.

All at once he had solved the puzzle that was tormenting him from the first glance at this mysterious man, and suddenly he realized where he had seen him – in one of the historical holocrons of the Old Republic. He developed a liking to look through them from the early childhood. The family archives of the House Organa on Chandrila were his favorite playground. This face he saw once in a painting made in a forgotten technique, and without any visible reason memorized the caption under it forever – 'The Senator Sheev Palpatine makes the pre-election speech.'

It was impossible and didn't have any logical explanation, but in front of him there was a person from the painting, the same hairstyle and wrinkles. Kylo wasn't sure yet, but the leader's voice vaguely resembled the voice from his hallucinations, however it sounded much cleaner and younger than the one he heard and so Ren didn't become alert earlier.

“But most importantly, this child will become a shelter for the spirit of our master, Darth Sidious,'' the man continued to speak.

He was getting more and more agitated and lifted up his hands higher and higher. The tone of his voice had transformed from fatherly condescending into hard, like a stretched string, and solemn, like he was perorating from a pulpit.

“From the first days of his life he will be brought up to accomplish his great mission, to rule the Galaxy in the footsteps and by faith of the Emperor Palpatine! And your great mission is to become his parents!”

At that moment, the man suddenly stopped his nearly hysterical preaching and ordered TC-41 matter-of-factly:

“Check her! Quickly!”

The droid approached Rey and placed her mechanical hand on the girl's belly. Only the fact that Rey was petrified, being shocked by everything that was said, saved the robot from breakages incompatible with further functioning.

“She's not carrying yet, master,” said TC-41. “But the next copulation will be effective. Provided that unprotected contact occurs in the next twenty-four hours, according to my calculations the odds of impregnation are one to three in favor of success.”

Rey shuddered with disgust at the droid's words. She tried to restrain herself, but couldn't. The girl painfully doubled over, and vomited right at the feet of TC-41. Kylo instinctively took a step towards Rey to help her somehow, but never had a chance. She had already straightened up and, wiping her mouth with her palm, quickly threw her right hand towards him.

The Force blast she sent him was very weak, more like a spark, but it was enough to stop Ren dead in his tracks. He felt a limp warning jab in the chest and saw her reddened eyes, which had nothing but fear and hatred for him.

“Don't you dare touch me, you monster!..” Rey hissed, taking a deep breath.

Kylo twitched his lips in resentment and stepped back, with an effort of will making his face indifferently passionless. If she was still trying to blame him for everything that was happening, he wasn't going to change her mind. Moreover, he wanted to punish the girl for the mistrust, for the fact that she puked at the very thought of getting pregnant by him.

And he was also too interested to find out what was proposing this strange man, who looked exactly like the young Emperor Palpatine, but spoke about him in the third person. However, Kylo's trembling hands had been playing foul his indifferent look, and he clasped them behind his back.

“Well, well, my girl, no need to become so worried,” the leader said with pretended care and continued solemnly: “I see, this is a great responsibility, but also a great honor. This child will change the existing galactic order and establish the eternal rule of the Force-sensitives! No one will dare to scoff at Force users, they will dictate their will to all inhabited worlds! No more shameful equality, no more servitude! True Force-sensitive aristocracy, to whom mere mortals will unconditionally obey. Isn't that a dream?”

Then he quickly nodded to the droid, and TC-41, clumsily picking up a napkin from the table, handed it to Rey.

“I ask you to clean yourself up, my lady,” the robot said. “The act of penetration will be more successful if you look presentable to increase Master Ren's appetence.”

The girl, amazed, as if for the first time, looked herself up and down, realizing apparently for whom and with what purpose she was poshed like that, and then trembling with the eyelashes rolled her eyes, being obviously seized by giddiness. Kylo thought that now she would either faint or vomit again. However Rey just leaked another generous portion of tears onto her cheeks and took the offered napkin.

“You are too emotional, girl! Is it really necessary to react so wildly?” the leader snapped harshly, watching Rey's mental anguish with indifference, as though she was a turned over beetle fighting to stand on its legs to no avail, and then he added in a softened voice: “Parents will be able to surround the child with the care he needs until he will be old enough to begin his Force training. You should know better than anyone the importance of a family in one's life, young lady, you were deprived of your own... How essential is the fatherly and motherly support...”

Ren couldn’t stand this any longer and decided that it was his time to ask questions. And if the man wanted to get something from of him, he had to give at least some answers.

"Stop it," Kylo interrupted him acidly. “The audacity of it all! I have to give it to you, you have some fucking nerve! You could have appealed to our reason before you dragged us here and slipped drugs into our drink! Meeting your ship was no accident, right? How did you track me down?”

The leader looked at him and smiled broadly still without a shadow of humaneness. It seemed that he had no objection to chat a little, thought he was on a firm ground. Ren desperately wanted to over-persuade him, to wipe that contented grin from the face belonging to Palpatine for half a century ago, but he inhibited the impatient desire to do it until the time comes.

“In truth we weren’t tracking you, Supreme Leader, but the Millennium Falcon and Rey from the Resistance,” the man replied, figuratively knocking Kylo down to earth. “We were sure of one thing – opposites always attract. Had we found the girl, you wouldn’t be long in coming, would you?” he added with the arrogance of a man who always appears to be correct. “After all, you hate her so much that you even dream about her in your sleep,” and he turned to the girl. “Oh, such hot, vivid visions... Were they come true, young Rey, you would have been with child long ago.”

The girl looked at Kylo with the same malice now mixed with the unpleasant understanding while he, running his fingers through his hair, grabbing his head and putting aside all his previous coldness, was surprised into blurting out:

“So this was your doing?! But that... is impossible... Implanting the dreams?.. It’s unheard-of! That ability is beyond the power of anyone in the Galaxy! I'm ready to believe in voices, but dreams?!.. Admit it, your scouts had infiltrated my flagship. You were poisoning me with some stuff, systematically poisoning!..”

Spilling out the barrage of his accusations, in reality Kylo longed to believe in the most incredible than in the fact that Rey was his weak spot, which was now used against him. Interrupting Ren, the man laughed softly and then said with renewed iron seriousness:

“Let me enlighten you. This and more is possible within your amazing bond. Since the moment it appeared, its boundaries have only expanded and... deepened. You are destined to be together, and the Force contributes to your connection even against your will and both ways. I know that Rey of the Resistance has something to share with you too, Master Ren. What a sex-hungry dreamer lives in this chaste body of a little Jedi.”

“Shut up!” the girl suddenly yelled and the blood flushed in her pale face. “That is all… a damn Sith slander!”

“You were having them too? The illusions? Have you heard the voice?” Kylo asked, looking Rey directly in the eye. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I don't have to tell you anything,” the girl muttered, trying not to meet his gaze. “I made only one mistake in my life, but the most fatal, when I didn't kill you on Takodana… No more mistakes!”

Ren chuckled darkly, he totally agreed with her on that matter.

“Oh, but you won’t be able to kill each other,” the man uttered somehow wearily, he obviously had no use for their bickering. “The Force craves the arrival of its hero. It will not put you in harm's way. The end of your every battle is predictable,” he pointed to the bed that was crying about their recent pleasures. “Does the traces of vomit make her less attractive in your eyes, Kylo Ren? TC-41 is just a droid with downloaded data. She cannot comprehend the mysterious ways of the midi-chlorians. She's just being cautious. Your appearance won’t affect your attraction to each other. Even your deeds couldn’t. Rey’s desire to be with you, Master Ren, wasn’t diminished neither with the murder of Han Solo, nor with the Hosnian Prime's destruction. It wasn't influenced by the defeat of the Resistance or by the death of Luke Skywalker...”

The girl shook her head and sobbed, but this time she had nothing to say. Rey actually gave herself to a monster that one by one murdered and tortured members of her new family. Fucked him twice actually...

“I thought… I hoped that I could bring him to the Light,” she said in a weakening voice. “I… was wrong… and now…”

Kylo didn’t let her finish, stamping his foot. He realized that he was behaving like a little boy the man reduced him to but he couldn’t do anything about it and exclaimed:

“Not in front of this one! You don't have to explain anything to him! Stop! This whole story may turn out to be a lie, an orchestrated performance! Let him say, let him...” he poked a finger in the direction of the leader, “why are they so sure that this child will be Force-sensitive at all?! It’s debatable!”

But he wasn't able to win the girl back – she didn’t even look at him. The man also hadn’t seemed unbalanced and replied in a calm tone:

“That’s true – you are an example of this. Your parents didn’t excel in the Force control. But both of you are parts of the great prophecy, the incarnation of the Rule of Two. Your offspring inevitably will become the mightiest of the Force-users!”

Kylo grimaced, swallowed his annoyance, and attacked the man again:

“Aren't you over complicating things?! If you need this child so badly, you could have done this... business without our participation. DNA samples, medical droid and incubation capsule, nothing else would be needed!”

“He should be born naturally!” the man couldn’t hold back his rage that he had to explain the obvious things and it crept into his voice. “In order to keep the essence of prophesy! Ancient Sith soothsayers fell a long way short of these blessings of civilization! I don’t even know why you are opposing to this, Master Ren?! You can’t go against your destiny. This child would have appeared anyway, even if we hadn't interfered into your affairs! But you two like the stubborn loth-cats... You won’t kill each other, no, but you can cripple. We had to speed things up! Our master has no time to wait!..”

Here the leader gave a shudder, sighed loudly and looked back in fear, as though someone was standing behind his shoulder, and then, feeling angry with himself and taking it out on them, said threateningly:

“Although you, Master Ren, are quick-minded as always. There is a party among us that preserves wide latitude in reading the prophecy. And in the extreme case, we are ready to use one of the easy ways to get by without you. Hope I don’t need to explain what will become of you as soon as the prophecy is fulfilled?.. But we give you a choice. Isn't that the most important thing, young Rey, to give people a choice? You don't want to repeat the mistakes of your parents, or even more so make your own... Besides, the Force powers of the clones are very unstable, take my word for it, I know,” the man finished with a touch of regret.

“No matter what method you use, this creature will be the produce of rape!” Rey blurted out indignantly.

The man's smile became even wider, that took the girl completely aback. And Kylo had got an answer to the main of his questions upon hearing leader's next words.

“That fits into the canon, for the Sith have never been afraid of a little bit of violence. Kylo Ren takes your virginity, pregnancy destroys your body, motherhood breaks your soul. Darkness feeds on destruction! You will find yourself on the Dark side, whether you like it or not.”

Kylo and the girl exchange anxious glances. They understood, whose dummies they became. Hadn't Rey obstinately shut herself off from him, he would have delivered his other guesses to her.

After all this wasn't Palpatine. The Emperor had been killed before they were born and by that time he was already disfigured by the Darkness. Ren guessed that the man could be his clone, a copy of what Darth Sidious was before ascending to the galactic throne. This explained the impenetrable wall that Kylo stumbled upon while scanning the leader.

A clone of a powerful Force-user might be sensitive to the Force, but in such cases it often took bizarre forms. This one, moreover, represented some crazy Sith cult that still worshiped the Emperor and seemingly believed that he was alive although on his death bed. And now they planned to use Kylo and Rey in order to save their master...

Having read their silence in his own way the leader turned to Ren and continued his exhorting:

“It was plain from the outset that we wouldn't get consent from Rey of the Resistance. She is soaked in the Light. It will take a little more effort to tempt her over to the Dark side. If she becomes the mother of the chosen one, this will certainly help – sooner or later she'll stand beside him. But now we can only put our trust in you, Supreme Leader...”

He came closer to Ren, as if intending to take him in his arms. However despite the fact that he obviously considered Kylo one of 'his own', he didn't allow himself any back-slapping with him. The man stopped in a couple of steps from Ren and pointed at Rey.

“We know,” he began suavely, “how you desire this girl. Just look at her... Mouth watering female specimen indeed...”

Ren dutifully examined Rey, because it was easy to obey the leader in this matter. The girl stared back at him defiantly, but had been embarrassed when she saw what he was looking at. At her bare thigh, which appeared from the cut of the dress, at her breasts and nipples that were naughtily coming through the fabric, at her neck and lips. Kylo didn't even have to try to fantasize her naked, this image was forever ingrained in his mind.

He only just began to become acquainted with this body and all the pleasures it could give him. There were so many sweet holes for sticking his finger, his tongue and his dick in, and so many delicious bumps and folds to kiss, lick, and suck on. This variety made Ren's head swim and pulled at his crotch. It would be pure bliss to listen to her moans and hear how she screams his name, coming, and with each new orgasm to fuck the Light out of her, drop by drop.

“Show some respect, old man,” he threatened the leader ominously. “You are speaking of the second part of the ancient prophecy and the mother of the future hero...”

“When young Rey becomes pregnant, we will have to isolate her for a while on one of the planets we control,” the man continued. “We have to watch her pregnancy, the stakes are too high. And you can return to your duties as the Supreme Leader. But the moment the child is born, the girl will be at your disposal, and you will be free to do with her as you wish... For our part we promise you unconditional support for the policy of the First Order in the fight against its enemies. You can count on us in all your endeavors,” he added reaching out to Ren's ambition, although the other man was already completely absorbed in the prospects of satisfying his lust.

“Do I need to do it today?” Kylo asked with a grave voice.

“Yes, while young Rey is at the peak of her fertility according to the calculations of TC-41,” the leader readily responded, clearly delighted. “And while the transport that will take her to the planet for further stay is still on its way. Don't waste precious time. The cruiser is about to be discovered, these routes are far from deserted.”

No longer paying attention to him, Kylo approached the girl. He roughly grabbed her hand, pulled her to him, and dragged towards the bed. Rey was shaking all over but didn't try to resist, so dumbfounded she was with his behavior. There was nothing else to explain her apathy. As far as he knew the girl, it was not in her nature to lose heart. He pushed Rey onto the mattress, lifted the hem of her dress, carelessly opened her legs with his knee and lay down on top. The girl turned away silently and closed her eyes disgusted, but her every muscle had been tensed to the limit.

“One intercourse may not be enough,” the droid suddenly sprang to live. “The optimum number of ejaculations for successful conception is three.”

Kylo grinned obscenely and snorted:

“Never tell me the odds, you brainbolted metal head,” and raised himself on his elbows, undoing his trousers.

“Do you want us to leave?” he heard above his ear.

He looked up and saw the leader bending over them, anticipating their fuck more keenly than Kylo himself. He didn't want to deny the Sith such long-awaited entertainment. The man was to witness how his prophecy finally comes true.

“I don't care,” Ren snapped and turning the girl to face him with the Force, started to kiss her.


	11. Riddance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When he killed Snoke, he realized that no one had seen him for who he really was - a person, an individual. Everyone saw him as a symbol: the third generation Skywalker, the new Jedi, the new Sith, the new leader of the Republic, the chosen one destined to do great things. They all screwed up on what Kylo himself (or Ben) wanted. And I think Rey is his only object at the moment. He had almost gotten everything else he thought he needed: his father died at his hand, he killed Snoke, the creature he hated more than anyone in the galaxy, becoming the most powerful man in the galaxy himself. And yet of all the characters by the end of the TLJ, he remains the most needy and devastated. Thus, Kylo Ren achieved the goal of ruling the galaxy, but Ben Solo will give up all of this to be with the only person who is still dear to him. ©
> 
> Thanks The Last Duel for inspiration when writing the scene.

Astounded, Kylo felt the girl's tongue alive in his mouth, discerned the movements of her lips under his, and became alert instantly. Still unsuccessfully trying to pierce her Force-block, he couldn't resist her and... joined up. Each time the distance between them was disappearing, and they found themselves to be literally on the same horizontal plane, infatuation with Rey he experienced domineered over Ren's will. Even her slightly stale breath, her precarious, overly active response to the kiss, the presence of strangers in the cabin and the fear of totally losing control of the situation couldn't overcome it.

His cock, already tense from all the persuasions of the Sith cultist, in a split second reacted to the curves of Rey's body, which Kylo had pressed against the bed, to her closeness and living, vibrant warmth. Through the veil of bliss, Ren felt her hand on his waist. This had puzzled him for a moment, and he tried to concentrate. He was fully dressed except for his unzipped trousers. If the girl suddenly got into her head a whim to fondle him, she could easily do it – through the fly. But Rey touched him with another purpose, it felt more like a careful groping.

When Kylo got that the girl was trying to reach for his lightsaber, he grabbed a hold of her wrist tightly, still meticulously faking a kiss. After he heard a choked growl coming from the depths of her throat he was reinforced in his guess. Of course, Rey's indifference to her own fate and her passion to him, awakened in a nick of time, were totally feigned. She just lulled his vigilance and allowed Ren to get closer in order to steal his weapon. That’s why he had to act quickly before she would get the chance to ruin everything. She had understood, that her plan was uncovered, and had strained under him like a spring ready to uncoil.

He leaned on Rey heavily with his weight so that she wouldn’t play some trick, and, pretending that he was tugging down her panties, with a free hand took off his saber from the belt hook in the desperate hope that the foldings of the surcoat would cover his awkward movements. But he wasn't able to finish the maneuver. All of a sudden Kylo was pierced with a blinding flash of pain, and it was his turn to growl – Rey sank her teeth deep into his lip with all her might. The next several moments were filled with senseless rage and uncontrollable violence.

Out of surprise Ren jumped up, himself being an uncoiled spring. He grabbed the weapon with the hand towards himself and activated it in the process. Despite his confusion, Kylo experienced almost animal like pleasure when he heard the familiar crack of the unstable blade. The ancient dark Kyber crystal, that Snoke had presented him in the days of his training, immediately fueled Kylo's hatred. He made love for so long that the opportunity to destroy something overwhelmed him with the furious Force.

The very first blow turned out to be accurate and powerful. The leader, who was standing nearby, eagerly awaiting the intercourse that had been written in the stars, was cut in two. First, his dismembered right arm with the part of his shoulder tumbled on the floor making disgusting squelching sounds, and then his body, already lifeless, dropped to the knees and sank face down on the bed not far away from the stunned girl.

Kylo didn't stop here. TC-41 became his next victim. Returning the blade to himself, he beheaded the droid, slicing her chest with another sweeping movement. However, falling down and showering everything around her with the short-circuit sparks and red metal shavings she had made much more noise than her master. Alarmed voices sounded from behind the door immediately after the commotion. So the entrance lock was the last one to take a hit – in order to block it Ren launched his already deactivated saber in its direction. He threw the weapon with so much Force effort that its handle almost halfway went into the wall. Kylo vented his anger and simultaneously carved them out some more time.

“No one... has the right... to control... my destiny!” gathering breath and rolling his eyes maniacally, Ren uttered hoarsely.

“Whatever you say, tough guy,” Rey said hesitantly, raising herself up and glancing at the leader's corpse with disgust; but she was too scared to get up or even move away.

Kylo stared at her, frowning, as he were trying to figure out who was speaking, and then quickly put his hand to his chin, feeling strange moisture on it. When he looked at his fingers again, he saw traces of blood on them. The plasma of the saber sealed wounds, no matter how deadly, faster than bacta, so this blood didn't belong to the man he had just killed, it was his.

"Even-stevens," Rey said, not hiding her contented vengefulness, and smiled at Ren wryly. “One more scar from me to you... Hope it remains... as the first one...”

Instead of responding Ren just grinned and, roughly pulling the girl by the collar, turned her face down, laying on top of her. Crushing her under him, lifting up the skirt of her dress he Forced her legs apart. In this moment Kylo didn't care that his nails were leaving painful marks on Rey's delicate skin. Now he wasn't faking his intentions. Instead he was in such a hurry to free her from her underwear that he tore its elastic band. Squeezing her tight ass, he completely lost his mind. Rey tried to free herself and began to wriggle furiously under him, not realizing that this only inflamed him even more. From all the fuss, the neckline on her dress had parted, exposing one round white breast.

He yanked her hair and turned her head sideways, bent down and pressed his lips to her cheek, not kissing but dirtying her with his blood, which she herself drew. Kylo spat on his palm and ran it between girl's legs, smearing his saliva, slightly tinged with red, across her hot folds. And he smiled vaguely, because he felt without mistake that she, too, was aroused. She was practically dripping. Ren lifted her by the thighs, moved closer and was already preparing to enter her with his hardened dick, when he was surprised to see that Rey had stopped fighting.

“B-ben...” Kylo heard through the noise of his breathing, that was whistling with strain and excitement. “You’re doing exactly... what... he wanted you to, B-ben,” Rey muttered, choking with exhaustion. “Do you really know... who's the master of your des-stiny?.. Who decides your f-fate?..”

Her voice and words tamed Ren's ardor as though she threw cold water on him and at the same time slapped him in the face. They were provocative and sobering all at once. He froze over Rey, feeling his desire dissipating, leaving his head and body unpleasantly empty. Kylo slid off the girl, shoving his dick into his pants with disappointment, lay down next to her and covered his eyes with his hand.

“Certainly not a scavenger...” he grumbled under his breath answering her.

“You can't hurt me,” Rey said, as if a little surprised.

“And you can't turn me down,” Kylo retorted, still sensing her juices on his fingers.

"I... just wanted to tell you. That's not imposed, that's how I really feel..." the girl responded guardedly. "And I'm sure it's just you who controls yourself."

Ren fell silent trying to perceive his emotions that her words had stirred in him but discarded these thoughts as dangerous.

“You are always wanting, while I am... always ready... And... we hate each other as if nothing were wrong,” Ren touched the bite mark and added in the most ordinary tone: “As soon as they open the hatch, we'll both get ourselves an agonizing death. The droid probably recorded everything on her sensors, maybe even broadcast it.”

“It's not my fault that you started swinging your saber,” Rey tried to justify herself but apparently she was just glad he had changed the subject.

“Uh-huh,” Kylo grunted. “You just snapped at me like a savage veermok, and my... deflectors got jammed!.. Then you were really lucky to observe Master Ren’s merciful blow, cruel and effective... He didn't even get scared,” he grandstanded haughtily and lashed out at the girl: “But because of you, I don't know who’s behind all this and what do they want. Couldn't you be more patient? Couldn’t you try just for little while to carry on as if you agreed to do what he asked? I didn't intend to kill him, just give him good old third degree in order to loosen his tongue!”

To unleash his fury at least on someone, he brusquely pushed the body of the leader to the floor using his foot. Ren really couldn't hurt the girl with his actions, and didn't understand why. Perhaps by killing the cultist, he deprived himself of the only opportunity to find it out. But he was still capable of wounding her with his words and contemptuous look.

“To be patient? Is it some kind of a military op to you?..” Rey became indignant. “To pretend that I'm pregnant? With this TC-41 running rings round me? You are either stupid or blind!”

“Alright-alright, then to get pregnant for real, not for long,” Kylo said and, catching her look full of distaste, explained: “Don't think that I want this... creature. If there’s even a word of truth in this prophecy, I don't need competitors. And I haven’t noticed that you, too, were particularly happy about this perspective. During a war one has to fight one's enemy by any means possible. I would have made my way to the transport... Do you remember?.. The ship, the man said, that was sent after you. And then you would... get rid of it... You would only need a meddroid and a short quarantine afterwards. I won't mind.”

“That's not true, Ben, you’d never do that,” the girl said quietly.

He got up from the bed abruptly so that she wouldn’t have time to touch him - he was sure that now she wanted to do just that, it was exactly _the moment_. Even if this was just his assumptions, the child, indeed, posed more risks than benefits for Ren. Kylo didn't want to share his newly acquired authority with anyone. Or the girl that he finally got, for that matter. But nothing prevented him from mere supposing that they might have children... _Children that Rey would have bear him, who might have looked like her..._ And he glanced at the girl, still lying at his feet, thoughtfully and with uncertain admiration. But suddenly he noticed that she, as usual, was closely watching the change of emotions on his face and seemed to be planning to scan his thoughts. Feeling her Force probes gathering around him, Kylo turned away in confusion and ruffled his hair.

“The Light side is famous for its cheap sentimentality,” he jerked his lips. “But it weakens you. That way you’ll never defeat your opponents!”

"But at least I won't hurt my friends and those who are dear to me," Rey replied stubbornly without raising her voice. “Admit fairly, you are ready to believe in this crazy theory, because you were promised help in fight against the Resistance. You don't expect me to participate in this, do you?”

“Oh, gods… Anyone's circuits will smoke if one finds himself alone with you in a confined space,” complained Kylo. “That's why the surest way to shut your face is to suck it!.. Are you deaf or stupid?!.. He spoke about Darth Sidious, Palpatine, as if he was still alive! The last thing I think about right now is a bunch of kriffing rebels whom you stick to calling your friends!”

“We’ve never seen this... Emperor, neither you, nor me,” Rey began cautiously in a voice that is usually reserved for insane, pretending to take his concerns seriously, “But your mother, on the other hand... I think we could ask for her advice... My offer remains the same,” the girl stood up and took his hand anyhow. “If you come with me, if you return to your family, if you embrace the Light...”

“If, if, if!..” Kylo shouted irritably, pulling away from her and hammering his palm with his fist. “You've been bargaining for portions all your life, so even now you won't give up your habits!”

And he almost added that had she stopped imposing her conditions on him and had she been with him for his own sake, she would have achieved what she wanted long ago. But this thought that had suddenly crossed his mind, scared him so much that he immediately shut his mouth and barricaded his mind.

Both of them had to stop this war of egos, because the voices outside became a little louder and more aggressive, and something thudded heavily at the closed hatch. Kylo gazed at Rey, looking her up and down. The dress on her was in a sorry state, and that was entirely his credit. He pulled off the surcoat, not paying attention to the confusion on the girl's face, who clearly decided that _he was going to finish what he had started_ earlier. However when Kylo threw the surcoat over her shoulders, she frowned and docilely put her hands in the sleeves, which she had to roll up three times so as not to look too funny.

“Well, for now, you’ll have to come with me,” Kylo said in a voice that allowed no objections, and approached the door, straining his ears. “As soon as they enter here, pin this whole thing on me. I hope the old man has acolytes who may still need us, so that they won't kill us on the spot. Otherwise, I'll try to take as many scoundrels with me as possible, let em crawl! See if he has any weapon on himself,” he advised, not counting on anything. “And stay behind but keep out of the way. You'll help me with the Force in a pinch.”

Kylo pulled the lightsaber out of the lock panel with considerable difficulty. Luckily, despite the blow, it appeared to be in working order. Although the weapon was covered in chips and scratches all over, its blood-red blade escaped the emitter shrouds dutifully and impatiently as soon as Ren pressed the activator. Near the exit, the sounds in the passageway became more distinct, and for a moment it seemed to him that he heard excited screams and echoes of an activated saber, even after he turned his off. However, when a point of a blindingly bright light pierced the metal of the hatch, he realized that he mistook the hum of a laser cutter for the sounds of a lightsaber.

Kylo and Rey exchanged silent glances. He noticed the fear in her eyes and tried to smile encouragingly, but obviously hadn't been convincing enough... Ren stepped back from the door to the distance of a fighting lunge and stiffened, legs spread wide. Unable to tear his entranced gaze from the ever-increasing scar in the surface of the hatch, he just heard the girl come up to him, and felt her grab his shirt sleeve, nervously crumpling the fabric in her fingers. He found her hand and squeezed it in his, transferring some of his confidence.

When the cutter made full circle and its noises stopped, the oppressive silence didn't last long. Someone from the outside pressed on the cut, which edges, not yet cooled, were slowly melting in a chemical reaction. After few seconds an uneven oval piece of the hatch fell to the floor of the cabin with a deafening crash. The acrid, tear-jerking smoke belched by the smoldering plastic and iron, intensified. Rey at his side began to cough half-chokingly. However Kylo, whose senses were strained to the limit by the nearness of mortal danger, was able to see the outlines of a male figure in the doorway. And his outstretched dark-skinned hand gripping the handle of the Skywalker's saber.


	12. Against and Together (XXX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo became interested in Rey from the moment he laid his eyes on the girl. It took her more time, but when she saw him half naked, she was speechless. The fact that she is attracted to him is so obvious that it is hard not to notice. Next to Rey, Kylo becomes a different person. He is calm, quiet, focused... on her. She charms him, challenges him and makes him question himself and his actions. We see that he likes Rey only at the end of TLJ. As for the girl when she sees him without his shirt, she reacts in such a way that, without a doubt, it becomes clear – she considers him physically attractive. She blushes, falters... Not to mention the fact that she’s no more spitting hatred and begins to listen to what he wants to tell her. In the next scene together, they already appear before us as emotionally connected people.
> 
> The fact that Han and Leia loved Ben and wanted him back was not enough to convince him to change sides, because they already loved Ben before he became Kylo Ren. But Rey only knew Kylo Ren, and yet she was attracted to him. So he realized that Ben Solo cannot disappear / die, because Rey loved him. ©

Yet another silent pause was short. As soon as they made each other out through a suspension of ash and dust, the cabin was lit up with a red-blue glow and filled with a uniform droning of two laser blades. They appeared almost simultaneously, so it was not clear who had been the first to activate the saber. However, when the girl had shouted "Finn, no!!!" Kylo understood – maybe she was in a better position – the traitor lost his nerve a moment earlier than he.

This time Ren didn’t mean to hide his thoughts or intentions, especially when former stormtrooper manifested his own at full drives - the deadly determination in his eyes when FN regarded Kylo, exactly like that time on Ilum; a sickeningly worried expression when he was looking at Rey accompanied by an incredible relief that he saw her alive. He was ready to kill to save the girl, despite his understandable fear of Kylo. One didn't need to be too sensitive to feel the abyss of fury, richly flavored with disgust, that opened up inside Ren with the appearance of the traitor.

The mere fact that the stormtrooper had the Skywalker's lightsaber drove him mad. Now everything was explained – Rey's embarrassment, her silence and averted gazes when Kylo spoke to her about this weapon. Judging by the steady energy flow that had been forming the blade, the girl managed to fix it somehow. Probably that’s why she considered herself entitled to dispose of it as she saw fit, and dared to give it up to her rebel pal, who had never held anything more elegant than the Sonn-Blas gun in his hands.

But Kylo's anger that his family heirloom had fallen into the hands of a stranger was no match for the throes he experienced as he watched them exchange glances. Obviously it was a meeting of two close friends with a common past, in which he played the role of a cosmic villain. What could he propose her instead – their unsuccessful saber fight, his rejected offer and rather aggressive deflowering, albeit done by mutual agreement?

The air in the room became stuffy. Now it felt like an explosive blend that could ignite at any second. Ren thought that he was past being surprised at anything when suddenly he keenly sensed an unknown presence in the Force. It was weak but incessant. It didn’t resemble the usual familiar presence of the girl. If it was the man who Kylo felt right now and and if he legibly broadcast his own emotions, traitor knew that nothing good awaited him.

“Rey!..” FN breathed, not turning his saber off or changing his tense fighting stance; Ren saw what tremendous efforts it cost him not to rush to her with hugs and kisses. “You’re alive... Praise the Force... I’m not late...”

Then he glared at Kylo with instantly frozen look, as though he saw something rotten in his stead, pushed air out of the flared nostrils, and added with a completely different voice: “Now let her go, you freak!”

“What?" Ren heard the girl from behind his back. “No, Finn... You got it all wrong... I’m fine…”

Kylo turned to the girl and sensed the same impatient desire to touch the man, to put him in her arms. It cut his soul like a laser and as soon as she tried to take a step towards the stormtrooper, Ren tightly grabbed her by the elbow. FN frowned even more, his breathing quickening. The fingers on the hand in which he held the weapon tightened, the knuckles paled, but he remained motionless. Not wanting to let the red blade out of his sight for long, he quickly looked around the room and at Rey's strange costume, immediately adding bewilderment to his already discernible hatred, fear and excitement. Kylo realized, even her friends haven’t seen much of the girl with loose hair and in a skirt, because the stormtrooper lingered on her bare legs longer than was necessary.

“Finn,” Rey said, her lips quivering, as she tried to smile and not to cry all at the same time. “You've no idea how glad I am to see you! We have to get out of here, we need to get to the Falcon at once!..” and looking at Kylo, she added: “Ben, please, don't start... The door is open, we are free, we have to run. Finn is one of ours, he’s saving us...”

“Do you really think so?” Ren asked tauntingly, realizing without much joy that he didn’t want to be free at all, that he would willingly lock himself up here for a million light years if Rey had stayed with him. “Your turn-cloak buddy would sooner surrender to the Order than save me!” and he looked at FN with barely contained rage: “Actually, you are late.”

“Ben?.. Ben...” ignoring Kylo’s words and his very existence, the stormtrooper repeated, digesting the name. “Since when did _this one_ become Ben?! Holy kriffing triumvirate, Rey! I was saving you, not this... Sithspit! What's going on?..” and he looked at her again, strangely robed in a man's clothes with a seductive, though crumpled and torn, dress underneath with the same mixture of trepidation and wonderment. “What did he do? What have you done, you bastard?!”

 _“Nothing that can be done twice,”_ Ren thought spitefully and in case stormtrooper still wasn’t able to read thoughts or couldn’t see the most obvious things, he pulled Rey to himself by the lapels of his own surcoat and smacked her nonchalantly.

The girl pushed him away, wiping his touch with the back of her hand. The traitor was taken aback and couldn't react quickly. What perplexed FN the most was how resignedly Rey endured Kylo's sudden rudeness.

“Not now, Ben!” she just waved him aside irritably. “We need to get out of here. That’s a perfectly normal plan! I don’t see that you have a better one.”

Kylo twirled the saber in the air, so that the blade screeched cheerfully, and stamped his foot, not only in order to instill fear in his opponent, but also finding support for the dash. He aimed the edge of the weapon at FN’s chest as if it was the muzzle of a blaster. This position was reserved only for his mortal enemies.

“I'll talk to you later,” he snapped at Rey casually without deigning a look at her, “as soon as I deal with him. Hope you’ll explain how this scum got the lightsaber that you stole from me.”

“I don’t know what you did,” the stormtrooper hissed, flashing his white teeth at Ren. “I don’t know how you did it. But anyways I'll kill you with greatest of pleasure!”

“Are you both out of your minds?!” Rey exclaimed, trying not to be too loud, and anxiously glared into the passageway. “This is not helping! We need to leave until someone raises the alarm!..”

None of them paid any attention to her words, measuring each other before the fight. Kylo, despite being badly wounded, got the best of FN during their first and, as it happened, their last duel. However the stormtrooper didn’t look like a confused Ewok with a thermal detonator anymore. He was holding the saber with a new confidence, not as a toy glow stick that accidentally fell into his hands but as a weapon to which he was accustomed. Kylo assumed that if the worst thing had happened and FN turned out to be Force-sensitive, he underwent some primitive training. In the absence of uncle Luke the girl could have been his only teacher. And Ren learned her fighting technique the hard way, he discovered it with his skin. The stormtrooper also waved the saber, losing patience, and tilted the head from left to right menacingly, stretching muscles and warming up.

“Now is not the time for this showdown!” Rey began again, watching their sinister preparations. “You'll definitely have the opportunity to fight someone, Ben, when we get to the Falcon. There’s no need to maim each other!” and when she saw that her admonitions didn’t work on Ren, she added sternly: “Finn, stop that!”

FN hesitated just for a second and turned his eyes at the girl. But that was enough for Kylo, who said disparagingly, cutting off the stormtrooper's withdrawal routes:

“All your life you’ve been trained to obey. Some lousy trainers you had actually 'cos you fucking defected. But you’re still the same rule-abiding little buckethead without a trace of your own brains. Do you wanna take someone else’s orders until you... kick the bucket?..”

Whatever Rey objected right now, after these words FN wouldn't have listened to her. Instead, he lifted his saber and lunged at Kylo. This was not in Ren's favor, because he wanted to start the attack first. And now he had to defend himself against the initial, most powerful and crushing blows of the stormtrooper, as quickly as possible maneuvering his weapon in the air, which in a matter of seconds had been saturated with ozone.

The blue blade jumped right at the Kylo's shoulder, cutting off an unruly strand from his head. He managed to repel the blow, but could smell his own singed hair. After a few more blows, FN's saber aimed at his thigh, and Ren put a Force block against it only at the last moment. Blades that were crisscrossing with a mad crackle cast multicolored flashes on both opponents, while they had been fixing their hateful gazes on each other.

Kylo felt the stormtrooper use the Force, pushing him away, breaking the contact between their sabers in order to make a strike again. The push was successful, Kylo was thrown back two steps deeper into the cabin, but when FN pounced on him again, his next onslaught was already weaker. Ren sensed his weariness, he knew that before FN had appeared on their doorstep he was fighting plenty, breaking through their jailers. Moreover he couldn't yet manage his Force abilities effectively, and he couldn't use such an inexhaustible source of energy as the Dark Side was for Kylo.

But Ren lingered before taking advantage of the enemy's weakness, allowing the stormtrooper to make a few more unsuccessful attacks before moving forward himself. Wide swings left FN too open, from all the efforts he not only tired, but also lost his guard. He inadvertently stepped back and bumped into the table, almost fell, turned to look around, and at that moment Kylo changed his tactics.

Making one sweeping step, he leaped towards the stormtrooper, using the weapon to block his next blow and at the same time concentrating the Force in his free hand. He stunned FN quickly and efficiently, so that the man froze with his limbs grotesquely outstretched and dropped deactivated saber to the floor. It was a mistake to think that he could be a worthy opponent for Kylo. Ren was already preparing to slash stormtrooper in half when the girl suddenly appeared in front of him, risking to face his blow and be chopped into pieces. He restrained himself and automatically turned off the laser blade seconds before Rey pressed both of her hands to his chest. Right after that the world around them changed. Kylo saw her eyes focused on him, when she invited him to her head.

The walls of the cabin parted and disappeared, plunging into the indefinable darkness. Kylo felt hot and cold all at the same time, he felt himself... naked, and looking down, saw Rey sucking his erect dick which was glistening with her saliva. He not only saw the girl, not only felt her warm lips and tender tongue with his foreskin, he somehow knew what she was experiencing and thinking at that moment. _Kylo became Rey..._

_Without stopping her sweet labors Rey curiously watched Ben, who reluctantly surrendered to her will. Now, in her mouth, he was more defenseless than ever and totally under her control, despite the fact that it was she who was kneeling in front of him. Her touch gave the skin on his thighs goose bumps. Her caresses brought soft moans to Solo's lips. He was afraid to take his mesmerized gaze from her, but every time she made a particularly bold movement, sucking and swallowing him as deeply as she could, he rolled his eyes languidly. She saw his impatience as he wanted to move his hips faster to fuck her good and his reserve as he didn't want to hurt her, and she doubled her efforts. Rey felt his fingers buried in her hair, tasted the precum coming out of his throbbing dick and realized the extent of her own arousal. Overflowing with juices, the pink emptiness between her legs eagerly demanded to be filled, but she continued this torment in order to enjoy her submission and her power, to hear Ben's demands and his pleas in order to... fulfill them..._

Kylo shut his eyes tightly, struggling to collect his chaotic thoughts. His throat narrowed for all the words that wanted to break free and harm him. When he worked up enough courage to look at her again, the girl, dressed in his surcoat, stood opposite, still pressing her hands to him. He unhooked her from his chest and, taking a breath, asked contemptuously:

"So you will offer me your sex services in exchange for your buddy's life, like a tailhead Twi'lek whore? Who taught you that? This one?” he added, pointing to the immobilized stormtrooper.

But Rey didn’t answer and touched him again quickly so that he didn’t have time to protest, gently squeezing his temples with her fingers. Kylo exhaled quiet "No!", and again found himself in the twilight of her thoughts – in the cabin on the Millennium, watching the girl sleep, _becoming sleeping girl._

_Right after the Force-bond developed between them, strange dreams began to torment Rey almost every night when, of course, she wasn't deprived of a sleep. Each of them started with a saber fight and ended with kisses. At first she was awakening in rage, then in confusion, later... with frustration. The initial visions that visited Rey were not explicit, because they were limited by her ignorance. But as her desire grew so the dreams became more sensitive and sophisticated. And today she woke up in the dead of night so wet and swollen that her hand reached out to her panties on total reflex. She needed to conquer this pain and her loneliness. The hot, sticky mucus inside her enveloped her fingers and eased the friction. Rey, spreading her legs wide under the blanket, started caressing herself. Closing her eyes, she clearly imagined his face. Shyly rubbing and tugging hard hungry buds that were her clit and nipples, she imagined his hands and lips on her body. She came, involuntarily twerking her hips, fucking him, invisible, and constantly muttering his true name, which merged into one orgiastic moan..._

This time Kylo was in no hurry to break the contact. The girl did it herself, anxiously peering into his face in order to guess what reaction was provoked by what she just showed him because he didn't invite her to his thoughts. He kept his silence, and Rey touched him once more, embracing him by the shoulders and tilting his forehead to her lips. And Ren again plunged into the world created by the girl, which he had looked at through her eyes, _becoming Rey once more._

_She saw a house, a summer meadow full of flowers and a child on it. She was waiting for Ben's homecoming, soon he has to return to Naboo from his last mission. Rey hadn't seen him since the end of the wet season except for short hologram sessions, and her impatience was reflected in everything she did. She was being able to calm down a little only when she watched their daughter playing peacefully in front of their house, and admired her black curls and wise intent gaze, which she inherited from her father. Rey wished that Ben would come in, nestle her against his broad chest, and promise that that was his last absence. And she would be ready to believe him again, because at this moment there would be no one happier then her in the whole Galaxy..._

Kylo pulled away from her abruptly and shook his head in disbelieve, grimacing as though he was in pain.

“You don't need to kill him,” Rey said quietly. “This is not about him at all... Now you know...”

Ren felt tears stung his eyes. The last image didn't resemble Rey's memory, like the scene where she pleasured herself, or her fantasy, when she gave him, oh, such an experienced!.. blow job. It could only be a Force vision, and Ren was spooked straight off. After what he saw, he couldn't provide a sufficient level of concentration to maintain the Force stasis. And the stormtrooper, who before that could only goggle about ludicrously, immediately began to move his fingers.

But Ren haven't noticed this – things in front of him had been wavering, as if he was looking at everything through a rain-drenched glass, and had been threatening to dissolve altogether. He couldn't decide who he hated the most right now – himself or the girl. Her, because she promised him real life in a multi-colored picture, himself, for the fact that this picture was enough to make him lose control. Kylo quickly wiped his eyes, and the world gradually began to return within its usual boundaries.

He became frightened of what he saw and even more of what he had felt. An irresistible desire for all this to be true - a house in a clearing, his reflection in a little girl, a woman waiting for his return. The mere thought that the Supreme Leader of the most brutal dictatorship in the Galaxy, who had murdered his father and destroyed his masters, could be worthy of such a fate, sidelined his vanity. A small picture suddenly showed him... another way?.. Even the visions where Rey was sucking his dick paled in comparison with this peaceful scene. If the house and the meadow became a reality, he would have enough sex with the girl, but Ren realized that this was not the only and not the main thing that attracted him.

However, Kylo was most frightened by the fact that all this could disappear or be taken away from him, as if he was already standing on that sunny meadow covered with flowers, making the future predicted by the scavenger true. And he once again reminded himself of his stubborn rule never to live by other people's expectations, not being anyone's hope or anyone's outcome. It was much easier to hate and continue his usual way of life than to love and start a new one. After all, he made so many sacrifices to achieve his current position. He firmly decided that the vision wouldn't determine his destiny. In order to hide his internal nuclear reactions, Kylo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, feeling the cold rage bring his thoughts in order.

“Well, you've achieved what you wanted, you've harnessed me alright,” he grinned wryly. "Is it the much-acclaimed Jedi farsight? You resort to using this unreliable ability too often.”

“Call it whatever you like. It'll come true,” Rey said, obstinately poking her chin at Kylo.

Even through the Force he felt her arrogant overconfidence on the verge of willfulness, but couldn't figure out what was fueling it. She wasn't afraid to say that they would have common future. She practically confessed that she... wanted to be with him!.. But Ren dismissed it as one of the Light side tricks.

“If you rely upon this so much, then you should know that the proper interpretation of a future that can be seen with the help of the Force takes special skills,” Ren responded didactically, not raising to the provocation, and, calming, attached his saber to the belt hook. “It’s like trying to... view the Pasaana Festival of the Ancestors through the monocular – you may like the details, but the whole event will remain incomprehensible... Once your foresight has let you down already. Why do you think that now you correctly understood what you saw?”

The girl brushed him off impatiently and walked over to the stormtrooper, who dived out of his physical stupor only to watch their conversation, dumbfounded. Apparently, he still couldn't fathom why Kylo didn’t finish him off while he was paralyzed, and why Rey was sweet talking with him, daring to show her back to the monster.

“I won't waste precious time convincing you,” she said, bending down to pick up the Skywalker's lightsaber. “Dameron is on the Falcon, all alone, wounded and unconscious! Kriff knows what could've happened to him while we are making... out... here...” the girl sighed embarrassingly and added with displeasure.“Either the two of you quit your squabble, or I’ll have to stun you both — have to admit, Solo, that was a great move — and load you on board like a glitched droids!” Rey looked sternly at FN, who was rubbing his numb biceps, and continued, weighing the weapon in her arm, “This saber must have a worthy master. Perhaps I was wrong when I gave it to you, Finn. But then I didn't know that you are so willing to be led by your dark emotions!”

“He p-p-provoked me, man!.. Have you forgotten who that is?!” still putting his muscles under control, the stormtrooper tried to vindicate himself and took the saber, which the girl, grudgingly, held out to him, but then instantly became wary: “You said Dameron? Dameron is here?!”

“Yes! Ben brought him in. Saved him actually. I got spotted by the Order patrol in the Corellia system, Poe was wounded, when he was boarding the Falcon. Ben carried him to the ship and helped to get rid of the tail... And all of this will be in vain if we philosophize here instead of acting... I didn't forget anything. But this saber won't be used as a weapon of revenge, Finn! It's not your decision to make! You know, we've already discussed it...” here Rey became silent abruptly with the look full of confusion.

Kylo frowned, being at a loss, trying to understand what the girl meant and why she left the end out. She perfectly well knew that his appearance on the Falcon in the company of the pilot was a well-thought plan, the fake rescue being part of it. And Kylo was responsible, though unintentionally, for the barrage of the freighter by the Order patrol. Perhaps she just wanted to rush to help her dearest Poe, but first she needed to cool the bravado of her buddy.

However deep down Kylo knew that she was incapable of throwing such words around wantonly. He felt that they were intended more for himself than for the stormtrooper. And she kept addressing him by this old hateful name that unsettled Ren as it was. She scrubbed and scraped him, trying to get through his new personality to the yielding essence of Ben Solo... He wanted to stay alone with Rey. And he dreaded it.

FN noticed, something was happening between them. He clearly sensed this between their evasive looks and unspoken words not only with his ordinary senses, but also through the Force - now he was capable of it. He reluctantly put his weapon away, although bearing in mind, that he should throw fierce glances at Kylo from time to time.

“It's real fun to watch how you two are bossing around my inheritance and deciding my fate,” Ren said through set teeth, making an indifferent expression, for which he had to turn himself stitches outside and tie in a double knot, then stepped to the cut up hatch and carefully looked out. “The Jedi self-confidence is as dark an emotion as the anger or the vindictiveness, Rey,'' he uttered meaningfully and, as if suddenly remembering something, added: “He's got the saber, all right. But I can't wait to find out why you got rid of it in the first place...”

“Now I'd like to do without these trite rhetoric and interrogations, Ben,” the girl muttered resentfully, “especially coming from such a paragon of justice like yourself,” and she approached him.

“I just wanted to say that sometimes it's really difficult to decide what's good and what's bad, even more so when it comes to your neck or the well-being of your loved ones,” Ren shrugged and motioned for her to admire the picture opened in the passageway.

It was covered with the bodies of the fallen bandits, and not all of them were just unconscious – some had lost limbs, the chest of one Neimoidian had been burned through by a laser, and next to him laid a man in Corellian rags with the belly ripped open. Some unfortunate man crawled round the corridor bend, having left a dark reddish trail on the floor. Ren hoped that he didn't have time or strength to reach his associates or cry for help, otherwise it would completely nullify the chances of the fugitives.

Ren felt a jab of unexpected respect for the stormtrooper when he saw how fiercely latter hacked through the guards to free the girl. Kylo was able to associate with that behavior. But somehow he was sure Rey wouldn't like it. With a faint half-smile, he studied her reaction, and was rewarded with a sour look on her face as she had been inspecting the sacrifices made to save her.

“What would you even know about it, monster?” FN hissed, joining them at the door.

“Check this out, he slaughtered a helluva of people, while I spared him. And guess, who's got a monster all over his face?” Kylo said pretending to be wounded in his deepest affections.

"Oh, Finn..." Rey breathed with a touch of disappointment in her voice, "How... did you... end up here at all?"

Kylo rolled his eyes when he saw that she wasn't going to reprimand the stormtrooper. Ren looked around, picked up a blaster lying on the floor, wiped its handle with the clothes of its former owner fastidiously, and handed it to the girl. She took it and thanked him with a curt nod.

“Our navigational intel reported unidentified cruiser with imperial call signals in the Colonies. After they traced its movement pattern, it turned out that the takeoff was made from the Outer Rim,” FN explained. “You know, we are in the middle of the new op... “Allies”… I was ordered to infiltrate and check the condition of the ship and the mood of the crew by General… Organa...” here he quickly glanced at Ren, who upon hearing his mother's name furrowed his brows and lowered the eyes. “...for requisitioning or enticement... It could've went either way. I intercepted it drifting on sublights near Ghorman. Managed to get on the ship through their conscript agents. The planet is still swarming with imp demobees. I pretended that I was born here, that my… daddy was one of the soldiers, invalided out after the Battle of Endor. They don’t like the Order too much, that’s was my luck. We’ve got together well without any grill, they took my word for it. Then again they recruited such rabble here, you must’ve seen 'em, that were more than happy to get the son of a... former officer. Actually seized me eagerly right at the conscription station...”

They left the cabin and moved forward. As Kylo was absentmindedly listening to the stormtrooper's blather, he saw the wires torn out from the walls and realized with relief that cameras and sensors were cut off most probably by greedy crew members. About twenty meters down the corridor laid the corpse of the very bandit who had stained the floor at the hatch, which further improved their prospects for escape. But Ren felt his heart began to beat faster inexplicably, driving adrenaline through the veins which had been gradually clearing of the blood ingredient. Not knowing what he was doing, he instinctively hid the girl behind himself. She didn't mind, and FN pretended not to notice, because he was deep in his own story.

“Got pitched into the squad on ion cannons,” he continued and added a little cockily: “They have real problem with the regulars so didn't give me... droid work to do. And just when I got used to the drill and the guys, top brass noticed me… bang! A bustle on the dog shift and we're getting the order to send all energy reserve on the tractor beam. And whom do I see they drag inside the cruiser – the Falcon itself! At first I couldn’t believe my eyes and then spent all reportable credits and advance ration for bribes to find out where they keep the prisoners from the taken freighter. And still I had to fight my way to you…” he sighed and looked nervously at the girl.

He hushed up suddenly while Kylo tensed even more as the passageway in front of them had ended with a wide platform with a turbolift. Surveillance system here were also destroyed, so maybe they still weren't being discovered. But Ren had been already beginning to worry about how easy they were escaping.

“Have you managed to find out anything about whose leading the ship, why it is here?” Rey asked as they moved towards the lift tower.

“Batted the breeze with one radar technician at the mess-hall,” the stormtrooper replied. “The Falcon had been chased down for a long time, but guys at the top didn't explain the reasons. The crew is in the dark almost like you and me. Think they didn't mind much, as long as they were paid. So nobody asked any unnecessary questions. But this I know - they were waiting for one more ship to dock in a couple of days.”

Kylo tried to tie together the scattered pieces of information. He no longer thought that the man they mistaken for the leader was the real boss here. Otherwise his absence would have been already noticed by anyone. Their capture wasn't accidental for sure. What was more this huge star destroyer with a large crew was just a cover up, thanks to which he and the girl should have disappear without a trace in order to fulfill their notorious destiny... So the talks of the mad Sith weren't all so meaningless and ridiculous.

“Turns out you failed your mission,” Kylo said with mock nonchalance, thinking about completely different things – he suddenly envisioned Rey crushed by his body, with a face distorted by lust, and his skin crawled. “Allies op... And haven't enticed anyone to join the Resistance. Wasn't that why you were sent here for?”

“I had to hurry, don't you get it!” FN immediately became angry. “I heard about the ship that everybody waited for, which had to take prisoners away! I had to save Rey! I knew she was here. She pilots the Falcon these days. And... I... felt her!..”

Kylo turned away from him vexedly, only for his eyes to bump into the girl smiling toothy at FN, and almost lost it. He decided to board the mysterious ship at all costs and be sure to take Rey with him. He had to get on to those who were planing to use him in their games, as if he was a dumb Kintan strider, and the girl would have to play along with him. And although Ren desperately wished to erase this smile from her lips, he kept a lid on his intentions.

“Actually it's not your Sarlacc business, what ops the Resistance is handling! I've nothing to explain to you” FN flared, obviously thinking that he had been too talkative, and reached for the lift control panel.

HIs effusive emotions that filled the Force around him whittled down stormtrooper's defences. He wasn't able to sense the approaching danger and carelessly pressed the call button. The doors in front of them slid open in the bat of an eye and they faced three bandits apparently heading for their cabin. Perhaps they knew prisoners by sight, because one of them immediately raised his laser rifle and pulled the trigger.

Everything happened real quick, but Ren's lightning reflexes helped him again. Some of his Force abilities became second-nature, as a necessary part of a complex mechanism for self-defense... or for killing. Half-consciously he stopped laser bolt that was aimed directly at FN's chest. The stormtrooper had been distracted only for a moment, when he cast a surprised look at Ren, and then stunned another rogue, who had been reaching for the weapon. Rey, stepping out from Kylo's back, waved her hand in the air with near elegance and said soothingly:

“We're no threat to you.”

The third bandit that had been staring at the scene with the big eyes, nodded, echoing her calm intonation:

“You're no threat to us.”

“We just want to get to the captured spaceship,” FN said, imitating the girl’s movement, however it was clear that the Force effort behind the words didn't come easily to him.

“Use this lift, you'll get straight to the central hangar,” the bandit instructed them without a shadow of concern, and even tried to smile.

“You'll let us through and won’t raise the alarm,” Kylo commanded softly, joining the persuasion session.

“Get the fuck outta here!” the first man cursed irritable about to leave the elevator car.

“And take your pal with you,” Ren added, pointing a finger at the stunned second one.

As soon as the doors closed behind them and the lift started to move, Kylo clicked his tongue and said contemptuously:

“It's almost like a good old days, at my Uncle's academy, teamwork and cooperation exam...”

The memory of their fight at the Supremacy's Throne Room suggested itself and Ren looked at the girl meaningfully, unable to give the same contempt to his gaze not yet worshiping but already admiring.

And this time her naked thigh peeping out of the indecent slit of the skirt had had nothing to do with it...


	13. Meets and Decides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “It’s funny how Adam [Driver, who plays Kylo Ren] talks about it[.] He said it’s not the difference between good and bad, it’s the difference between good and right. Like his character thinks what he’s doing is right. He doesn’t think he’s the big baddie. So the lines get blurred anyway. Good people make bad decisions. Bad people make good decisions. What Rian has done is this wonderful thing of morally questioning people in a way that makes you see them in a more three dimensional way, or just in a way that you haven’t seen before.” © Daisy Ridley about Adam Driver, Kylo Ren and Rian Johnson
> 
> We see Kylo Ren reaching out to Rey to propose himself as her partner. We hear Luke Skywalker speak of his fears over Rey's unnatural Force abilities. Perhaps these two events anticipate a much greater conflict arising in her. ©  
> (Discussions in Quora in 2017 after the premier of TLJ trailer)
> 
> Thanks Worakls for inspiration...

It was quiet in the lift car except for the faint hum of the repulsors, but Kylo remained on his guard, and therefore not so much heard as foresaw the danger. He stepped towards Rey, took her by the hand and dragged away from the door, trying not to be distracted by the thoughts that cropped up every time she moved in such proximity or touched him accidentally. In the presence of the stormtrooper, these casual touches and expressive glances were all that was left for Ren.

Seeing this FN turned sulky, but, apparently remembering his recent screw-up, followed suit and squeezed into the opposite corner. After several agonizing seconds, the repulsorlift slowed down and gently braked to a halt, jumping slightly under its own momentum as it reached the bottom of the shaft. With lightning speed Kylo pressed the button that temporarily blocked the entrance hatch and froze.

They were separated from the hangar-bay by a thin steel partition in a plastic sheathing, and now there was no need to take pains in order to hear running and screaming there although without pain and horror. By the screams' businesslike manner and their abruptness, they resembled commands more, which, of course, was strange on a star destroyer filled with the galactic throwaways, but didn’t rule out the possibility. However, Kylo was disturbed by some other thing entirely. His uneasiness suddenly fulfilled itself as he felt _a new presence in the Force_ , powerful and demanding. The steady waves didn’t belong to any of those in the lift and came from the outside. The Force was flooded with impatient, almost greedy interest, and Ren clearly understood that whoever projected it had been _looking for them_.

“Shrink, quickly!” he shouted, concentrating and applying concealment with a desperate hope that he did it on time and not too awkwardly.

“What was that?” Rey asked, rubbing her temples with a painful grimace, and gradually disappeared from the Force, like a fog, blown away by the wind.

Ignoring her question Kylo snapped at FN:

“You won’t succeed anyway. At least try not to radiate your Light so... zealously! Better think about how you wanna kill… well… me for example. Imagine it... in exquisite detail…”

Then silencing abruptly, Ren turned pale and listened again. In the back of his mind he heard dawning 'my boiiiii', reminding him of his hallucinations and at the same time not being merely the phantom of his imagination, and he answered the girl with gloomy satisfaction:

“It's the ship... that was sent for us.”

Not feeling him through the Force, but unmistakably guessing Kylo's intentions, Rey shook her head and, defiantly looking up at him, said in total confidence:

“No, Ben! Don't expect me to participate. I’m not telling you this again. We need to get to the Falcon, that’s the only way to escape. And Poe…”

Rage, hard and flaming, swept over Kylo, so that his heart temporarily lost its rhythm. The image of the Emperor, whose death was celebrated with such pomp before their births, had resurfaced like a poorly inundated corpse, to spoil the landscape and the air, to interfere with their lives and dictate his will, while the girl continued to beat her gums talking about her precious friends. Ren, who had been clutching her wrist still, yanked Rey aggressively and exclaimed:

“Holy mother of meteors! Will you open your eyes at last?! Don't you understand anything?! Some usurper is seeking power! He is Force-sensitive and his abilities are huge. You were able to feel him just now, like I did! He uses cloning and his clones are Force-sensitive too. I want to stop him, and you have to help me, because they need us both. He can be a danger to everyone – for the Order and for the Resistance! He’s dangerous to me and… to you…”

Taking a breath and jabbing a finger at the door, Kylo commanded fiercely:

“We’ll get out of here and let them put us on the ship! We'll pretend that we believe in their story and find out who…”

“Hope you don't think that I'll leave Poe, Finn and the Falcon and follow you chasing your mad nerfs of ideas, playing scouts, only because you became frightened that your individual domination will be compromised?!” Rey blurted out, cutting Ren off, pulling her hand away from him; and Kylo amongst all his indignation managed to be surprised that the damned freighter was like a living creature to the girl, which she planned to save along with the pilot and the traitor. “Even if you are right, first I’m responsible to my friends, for their safety!..”

Kylo had an edgy impulse to tell her about his suspicions about the pilot, who might've been dead already, to hurt her, to wound in the very heart in retaliation for her stubbornness. But he feared that Rey would lose her concentration and be unable to maintain the camouflage. And even much more feared that it would be too cruel… Ren had been momentarily distracted when out of the corner of his eye he saw that the stormtrooper, agitated by their argument, conceived a design to approach the girl to help her. Ren, using telekinesis, shoved him back against the wall gently and quickly in order not to reveal himself in the Force. FN was taken aback by the measured caution and superfluous gentleness of the blow, however reaching for the saber instinctively.

“If you wanna make things easier for me and turn us in before I talk some sense into your girlfriend, let's do this, let’s have a fight!” Kylo offered him mockingly and added, all of a sudden looking dead serious: “You should know that I don’t wanna harm her in any way and won’t let others do it, but I need her help. I see that it’s difficult for you to believe, but I don’t think only about myself.”

“Don't feed me this bantha fodder… You're talking about Palpatine, right? That he... came back?.. Knock off this shit!" FN cried with a taunting surprise in his voice, and then, copying Kylo’s seriousness, he asked: _“And why did it occur to you that you need to prove me anything?”_

Kylo frowned and glanced around the lift car vaguely, as though he was trying to grab the tails of his own emotions in order to look them in the face, and then, also in surprise, supplying FN with a shrug he told him the absolute truth:

“I… don’t know…” then he clenched his fists, bit his lip annoyingly, lowered his eyes and, pushing himself beyond his limits, said quietly, addressing the girl: “Alright... I'll help you. When we'll rescue the freighter, these two should get out of here, they can do perfectly well without you. But for that you'll have to come with me and do as I ask. Nothing else...”

And Kylo almost opened his mouth to add “which you wouldn't want yourself”, but clammed up just in time. It was difficult for him to talk about this. He waited patiently for her response.

“You're bargaining not worse than Plutt the Blobfish, Solo. Means that you can learn something through me too,” Rey grinned, but noticing Kylo's demanding look, fixed on her, she gave up: “Agreed... I yet have doubts about the Emperor, but I'll see what I can do. Please, just don't say that you have a plan...”

Now it was time to regret that Kylo didn’t do a good job listening to the lectures on the Light skills. He began neglecting his uncle's stories about the Jedi legendary abilities and deeds in the epoch of the Galactic Republic way too early. After all, the Jedi allowed themselves get murdered, one by one, and their great abilities didn't help them. Some Force masquerade would come in handy right now – they would have been able to slip out of here and using the cover of the hubbub, the echoes of which they heard, get close to the freighter. However while becoming invisible to the mortals, they would instantly unveil themselves to those who tried to find them in the Force. There was only one thing left - to become as visible as possible to the ordinary eyes and turn into prisoners again.

“Give him your blaster,” Kylo ordered to the girl curtly, and then turned to the stormtrooper: “Give her the lightsaber back,” and noticing their hostile indecision, he immediately flared up and lashed out at FN: “Until they found out that you killed all those people you're still a member of the crew! If somebody will see and stop us, you can pretend to be our guard. You're delivering the prisoners to the central hangar!.. Do you get the picture, smart guy?" and feeling the scar on his face burn from all his anger, he added: “She handles the saber better than you, don't kid yourself! Hope you at least learned to shoot since you run away from the Order.”

Disgruntled, but convinced, they reluctantly exchanged their weapons. Kylo saw how Rey's hand trembled when she reached for the lightsaber. The disappointment with which the stormtrooper gazed after it and his anxiety when he cast a look at the girl didn't escape him either.

“What if it doesn't work?” Rey muttered.

"Then we'll use plan B – kill everything that moves, remember?" Ren answered plainly and smiled at her so artificially sweet that she puckered her brows in irritation.

FN stepped behind them, gun at the ready, and unlocked the doors. The noise of voices and working mechanisms, increased tenfold, poured into the car. Getting accustomed to the harsh spotlights, Kylo tried to look around. Humans and non-humans were scurrying about in all possible directions. At the same time with their lift two more hatches opened nearby, so nobody had been interested enough to turn and look at the fugitives. The Falcon hab been moored at the same place and seemed completely uninhabited. Due to the hustle and bustle in the hall it wasn't clear if the guards were posted directly on it - some people were standing near the ship, some passed it by.

At the center of the docking bay, cleared of the cargo and embarking vehicles, a sizable landing site was prepared, surrounded by the most odd company of people. It seemed the bandits were trying to create some kind of a welcoming column there. Several men in a shabby army uniforms not bearing any insignia but unmistakably suggestive of the Old Empire, were herding the rest into discordant ranks, abusing their mothers, Immortals and each other left and right. Of course they weren't a disciplined stormtroopers. The airlock had been opened, while the mooring crews that were busying themselves at the docking module were protected from the outer vacuum by a magnetic shield.

Blinding lights, cacophony of voices and chaotic movements in the bay sidetracked Kylo's attention, so that the last he spotted the outlines of an approaching starship, darkening against the starry sky. He failed to look it over properly. As soon as Ren glanced at it he felt someone's new impudent attempt to invade his mind. His palms covered with panicky sweat, and he momentarily lost his focus. While Kylo was restoring the camouflage, the stranger had already scanned his thoughts. They had to hurry. To secure the girl's support he had to help her friends but time was scarce.

They exited the lift, all as one with calm, near innocent expressions, hoping to get lost in the active disorder. Moving along the wall, they could have passed significant crowds of bandits unnoticed. But that wasn't disciplined stormtroopers for sure. The public here had been used to be on lookout from the cradle. The girl's smooth ankles flashing from under her skirt and Kylo's head, crowned with a shock of jet-black hair, proudly floating above the rest, immediately attracted attention. When someone's angry 'stop!' reached his ears Ren involuntarily hunched as though he had been already fired at. He turned, hastily hiding Rey behind his broad back. The stormtrooper also flipped around and released the safety catch on the blaster.

The fugitives saw a Mandalorian, with the pistol muzzle pointed at them. For a member of the Galaxy's finest mercenary caste, he was dressed rather slovenly. The only piece of armor he had left was a helmet with a broken antenna and a cracked visor. The rest of the costume consisted of a brown jacket and trousers, thickly stained with something gooey and sloppily tucked into the dirty boots, which for some reason caught Kylo's eye by their unsavory appearance. Emanating the sweetish aroma of the fermented fruits, the Mandalorian had been swaying drunkenly. However the gun in his hand was steady.

Shielding Rey with his body, Ren became so much tensed that he felt himself like a statue, frozen in an uncomfortable position – with his leg bent for the next step, with the hand raised with the intention to strike. Anticipating the motion and fearing it. It was necessary to break the silence that had been sucking them all down like a black hole.

“Hey-hey-hey, dude!” FN finally panted out, putting out his hand admonitory. “Steady, Mandie! That’s nothing to be so blaster-happy about. Put you kriffing gun down, don’t be silly! We’re friends…”

“Wh-wh-what...” the man uttered with an effort in a voice distorted by a broken helmet vocoder, “what are… y-you… doing h-here?..”

“Don't you see?” the stormtrooper responded gruffly. “I’m transferring the prisoners. Following the order…” he waved in the direction of the landing site, “Has been told to deliver them there...”

“These… p-prisoners?..” The Mandalorian asked, looking Kylo and Rey up and down. “Wh-what f-for?..”

“I'll be damned if I know… and if I care,” FN snorted, diligently playing his part. “Did you not hear me, man? That's an order!”

“The order? Wh-what fucking order is this?” the man managed to squeeze out - he visibly struggled to understand what was being said to him - and tilted his helmeted head to one side inquisitively.

“Listen, move along, will you?” the stormtrooper hissed with unadulterated irritation and looked around anxiously whether they aroused anyone else’s attention. “You’re cruising for a bruising, man…”

“No shit… What?!” the Mandalorian exclaimed. “He? With h-her?! Not on my watch!..” and addressing Kylo directly he demanded sternly, suddenly articulating each word clearly and intelligibly: “Get your hands off her, you scumbag!” after which pulled the trigger.

Kylo heard the laser shot whirring near his ear, ducked, but managed to jog the stormtrooper’s elbow second before, so that FN's return shot went above the head of the Mandalorian without causing any harm. Ren recognized... that smell. And these boots...

“Will you help him or not?” Kylo shouted, pointing to the man who had been slowly leaning downward.

The armor hid the Mandalorian's expression, but Ren could swear by all the Sith mysteries that he was surprised, and now this surprise deprived him of his last strength. His breathing became shallow, the right hand dropped limply, the exhausted fingers unclenched, and the weapon tumbled to the floor with a big crash.

However, the girl and the stormtrooper were still rooted to the spot, as though they were paralyzed. Kylo's words had no effect on them. He swiftly approached the man and grabbed him by the armpits so that he wouldn't fall down. Doing it he realized that this scene drove his companions into even greater stupor. But Ren was wary of using telekinesis. Instead, he once again dispelled the Force waves around himself cautiously.

Cursorily glancing back at the main airlock, he saw the starship slowly crawling into the dock-bay. The cone-shaped nozzles of its annihilators had already overcame the atmospheric energy barrier. He held his eyes on it only for a moment, to a nauseating degree not wanting to feel the eagerly curious probes of the mysterious stranger in his head. But even this short moment was enough for him to sense the darkness that surrounded it, making ship's outlines unsteady, like its fuselage had been heated up to the extreme temperatures.

And then Kylo saw that the shots they had exchanged with the Mandalorian hadn't gone unnoticed. They could have been covered neither by the noise of the live engines nor by the fuss in the hall. Several people turned to them with unease and started to flourish their arms, talking animatedly about something among themselves.

The sickly stench of the dried up bacta that exuded from the man's clothes got Kylo's attention once again. The Mandalorian in his arms emitted some strange sound, similar to a half-choked sob, and, shivering all over, muttered suddenly:

“Man... yara?.. Ren?.. What the fuck?!..”

Experiencing both abstract academic interest and slight bewilderment, Kylo realized that upon their touch, oh, Astral!.. he, for some reason, appeared to the man as a pink-skinned Zeltron girl, but he didn't have time to think that through. He frowned and with embarrassment looked at Rey and FN, who were still staring at them motionless. Except for the girl's hand, which, millimeter by steady millimeter, almost imperceptibly, approached the saber, that was hooked on the belt borrowed from the stormtrooper.

“No!” Kylo shouted, guessing her next move, and started to rip off the broken helmet from the head of the man in a hurry.

Poe Dameron looked like his bad replica – the deathlike pallor brightened his naturally dark skin turning almost blue on his cheeks and chin, touched with uneven stubble. Only the feverishly scarlet cheekbones and black circles under the eyes stood out. But the hatred with which he looked at Kylo was so powerful and confident that it made Ren wince. And he was glad to get rid of the heavy body of the pilot, as soon as the stormtrooper, recovered from his stupefaction, jumped up to them.

“Poe!” not believing his eyes FN exclaimed, taking the pilot from Kylo and embracing him. ”Buddy!.. Oh, stars, am I glad to see you! What are you doing here?.. I mean, outside?.. Rey said you were on the Falcon... That you were... injured...”

“Finn?.." the pilot muttered with a weakening and at the same time relieved voice, cracking a smile with his trembling lips, and felt stormtrooper's face, as if he wanted to make sure that he had not dreamed him.

FN clapped him on the back and blurted out happily:

“I've already parted with my life when you pointed the blaster at me!..” and he became seriously gloomy as he remembered that he himself was trying to shoot the pilot.

Poe glanced at the girl over the stormtrooper's shoulder.

“Rey?.. Is it really… you?..” he asked and jerked his chin towards Kylo. “Ren is with... you! What the kriff is happening?..”

“Thanks the Force, you're alive...” she exhaled without answering, and ran up to them to cut into the embrace.

Kylo turned away in annoyance, feeling oddly surplus, but a strange curiosity pulled his gaze back to the happy trio as if by a magnet. Then he suddenly caught the girl's eyes on himself and almost choked on his breath.

Endless astonishment and endless gratitude in her look at him which were being gradually replaced by calm and gentle wisdom, as though she confirmed some of her guesses, cut his soul in half, and Kylo averted his eyes, burned by this courageous frankness. The vision of Rey, lying in front of him, naked and jerking her hips while he caressed her emerged before his mind's eye ill-timed. And in an instant it gave way to other version of Rey – standing in a flower meadow, looking hopefully into the blue sky, waiting for his arrival... 

To take his mind off things, Ren bent down, picked up the pistol Poe had dropped, and said with a tone a little more contemptuous than was intended:

“I advise you to damp down your power cores and stop this backslapping session before it's too late. Otherwise, we can all part with our lives, and soon...”

And at this very moment, in proof of his words, they heard the angry cries of the bandits approaching them:

“This black one, must be, offed the stooge in the cabin! There's a mess in the inner compartments, everybody frazzled to pieces!”

“And that fuzzy-wuzzy must have polished off Tkharuk. This is his helmet, I swear to fuck!”

“It's ordered to get the girl and the towser alive, throw the rest under the shuttle for all I care!”

Following the shouts, laser fire poured on the fugitives, and Kylo had no desire to find out how good the shooters were or how diligently they were ready to carry out the commands of their superiors. He squatted and, getting close to the girl, pulled her down into a shelter behind the pile of spare part thrown promiscuously together. Then he looked out carefully and shot at the first bandit he saw, hearing with satisfaction a moan of pain in response.

A moment later, the stormtrooper joined him, tearing out new victims from the crowd of attackers hurrying towards them. Kylo had aimed at the next target, but being pushed in the hip, he jerked involuntarily and missed. When he turned around angrily the pilot who crawled to him unnoticed stared at him with gimlet gaze.

“So what does this killer even do here?!” he asked harshly, shooting ferverous glances at Rey who had been lurking next to him enviously watching the blasters in the hands of Kylo and the stormtrooper.

Ren rolled his eyes with exasperation and grinned evilly, keeping his eyes on the bandits.

“I've been asking myself the very same question, pilot Poe Dameron... I'm fucking tired of saving you!”

“Saving me?..” Poe screwed up his face, experiencing physical pain from the wound and irritation from the fact that he didn't understand anything. “Have you forgotten... to take your pills... or got hooked on some new?..”

“Let's count,” Kylo said and began to enumerate, interspersing his words with laser shots: “On the Finalizer – that's one. You needed... a pretty guide... On Tralus – that's two, when the stormtroopers grilled a hole in you. And now – that's three, when your own friends almost finished you off... You owe me till your dying day!.. For your own sake it's better be soon. Oh, and you owe your boots too... My only benefit was that I enriched my mind with the completely unnecessary knowledge. That pink tits and asses are a secret fetish of one of the most celebrated heroes of the Resistance.”

The stormtrooper turned to them with a puzzled expression and even lowered his weapon in surprise. The only things that brought him out of his stupor were a laser bolt that cut through the air very close by, and Rey's words.

“Never mind, go on,” she advised him matter-of-factly, shrugging her shoulders, as if this showdown didn't concern them at all.

“On the Finalizer?.. On-n... Tralus?..” asked Poe, slowly digesting the information, then swallowed hard: “You?! That was you?! It can't be...” then he stared at the girl and exclaimed with resentment in his voice: “Rey, you've NEVER told me that YOUR PEOPLE can do that!”

“You weren't the only one deceived,” she hissed through clenched teeth, starting to get angry. “Let's not do this right now, Poe, we need to save the Falcon. You must get out of here to warn the rest of ours about the danger.”

“Danger?..” repeated the pilot mechanically, still looking at Kylo with disgust, obviously remembering the details of his shared time with Manyara, in colors.

“It might sound ridiculous, but there is someone in the Galaxy who calls himself Palpatine…” Rey said in a voice of one who tries to believe its own words.

“Wait a little... I can't think straight yet...” Dameron shook his head and flailed his arms at her. “Did you just say Palpatine?.. Girl, what are you talking about?! The Emperor was defeated by the rebels three decades ago! After all, there's a victory kid before you!” shouting over the noise in the dock-bay, he heatedly bit his breast.

“Well, you just can't imagine how glad I am to see you!” FN interfered with gratitude in his voice, making an askance haunted look at Rey. “Guess what, them both tell tales that Palpatine is... supposedly... alive again!”

If the stormtrooper had the opportunity to put aside what he was doing right now and twist his finger at the temple, he would definitely do so, but he had to keep shooting at the bandits. However Kylo, drawing his breath, tried to smile at the girl expressing the appreciation for her support. However, this time she neglected him, and Ren, gunning down another man with a well-aimed shot, said loudly enough for the pilot to hear him:

“Fake victory and mongrel kids, what can you do?..”

He didn't have to wait long for the response to his insulting words. Dameron grabbed Kylo, roughly turned him to himself, shook up, and then whacked him right across the face. The pilot had little strength, the reach was nothing but moderate, and the impact weak, but yet Ren was able to taste blood from the cracked lip filling his mouth. He frowned, growled, tore off Poe's hands from his breast and was about to punish him with the Force choke when a docking siren suddenly went off and caught his attention. The starship had moored already and had been preparing to open its entrance hatches.

“Cut it out!” the girl cried out hotly. “Anyway, Poe, you and Finn will have to deliver this information and the ship's coordinates to General Leia while Ben and I...”

“Stop right there!” Dameron snapped up, rubbing his knuckles bruised by Kylo's teeth, and exploded with indignation: “How long was I under? I awakened at the Falcon all alone. And now we have this sweet little company here. 'Them both'?! You... with Ben?! What, that long?!”

“Oh, buddy, how I missed you!” the stormtrooper turned to the pilot with a dazzling smile, now openly ignoring the reprimanding look of the girl.

“Alright, it's really useless to sit here and chat,” Ren retorted coldly, ducking from the ricochet bolt. “That's too many of them, we can't get rid of all. If we want to reach the freighter, we need to move forward,” and he handed Poe his blaster. “I... and the girl... if you're not against us... being together of course... are taking over the close combat, you'll be covering us with the lasers, deal?”

He gave the pilot a little time to get used to the fact that the Supreme Leader of the First Order was offering his assistance to the member of the Resistance, but the roar of laser fire around them gave credibility to Kylo’s offer and acceleration to Dameron. Screwing up his face suspiciously, Poe, meanwhile, took up the weapon with wordless obedience and examined the battlefield with an absolutely meaningful manner, noting the weak spots and blind areas of the bandits advancing on them. Then he took aim, and, despite the obvious pain that every motion caused him, shot straight.

Kylo drew and activated his lightsaber almost in sync with Rey, and then with a loud and intimidating cry he rose to his full height and jumped out of his lurking directly at one Duros who got too close to them. The poor fellow didn’t have time to become scared, because he was immediately slashed by Ren who, without even looking back, moved on with powerful steps.

Kylo wasn’t entirely true when he gave the lead in the blaster combat to the stormtrooper and the pilot. He was equally swift-handed when he used the blade of his saber as an energy field – to protect himself from laser bolts and attack his opponents, aiming at them the deflected shots.

He had been hacking all those who blithely approached him. Without ever shooting a second glance on his kills, he had been simply noting with ravening fighting enthusiasm how the number of fallen victims grew, marking the trajectory of his advance. But the bandits who attacked them had been increasing, and there were still a good thirty meters to the Falcon. So Kylo continued to give blows right and left, considering each step forward as a small victory.

From the moment they left their hideouts, he couldn't stop sensing the active presence of Dameron and FN nearby. He didn't like the feeling, but Kylo knew that no matter how they pissed him off in life, now he could count on them. At least he had been sure that they would never leave Rey.

He saw their precise shots, heard brief warning exclamations they exchanged. They seemed to finish each other’s sentences, perfectly knew what each of them was capable of and successfully used mutual strengths and weaknesses in the battle, protecting each other, moving towards their goal. Quite inadvertently and with sudden longing Kylo remembered the knights of Ren, with whom he had to explore the length and breadth of the habitable Galaxy, running Snoke's errands...

Together, their team was just as effective and deadly, but Kylo never exaggerated the degree of their loyalty to each other, to Snoke or to... the new Supreme Leader, for that matter. His knights remained a band of marauders that submitted only to brute force. Ren himself often took them for an extension of his saber, an extra pair of weaponized arms capable of sowing death and destruction.

The knights were as much ‘his’ as was Hux with thousands of stormtroopers under his command. The only difference was that the ambitions of Trudgen, Vicrul or Ushar were not so megalomaniacal. They simply liked to kill, because in that way they shared the power of those to whom they allegedly obeyed. The Resistance could be hated if only for the fact that its members were selflessly loyal to each other and their beliefs, that they were ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of their friends on the first summon.

These recollections had for a couple of seconds distracted Kylo from the battle. So when a man in the rusty armor jumped at him out of nowhere, waving a vibro-ax, Ren, unprepared for the fierceness of the attack, staggered back and lost his balance, stumbling upon the body sprawled on the floor. Awkwardly collapsing backwards, he managed to soften the fall with the help of the Force, but there was no time to use the saber – the man had loomed over him already with the menacingly buzzing vibroweapon.

Ren would certainly have been short a body part, or even his life, if at that moment the girl had not appeared in front of him. She parried the blow, and after a brief confrontation, dealt the man with a lethal stab without any hesitation. Then she turned to Kylo and _offered him her hand_. When he looked up at Rey, he almost lost his breath.

Her palm that trembled slightly from all the tension had been stained with the multi-colored blood of the enemies she had defeated. In the heat of the battle Kylo's surcoat on her turned into tatters, and the black skirt had acquired a few more ragged slits. The hair had stuck to her wet forehead with dark curls while her clean-washed locks had transformed into sweaty icicles.

But now she seemed so attractive to him that Kylo couldn't hold back a smile. He got goose bumps of pleasure ran through his back. He raised up and joined the fight again, although now he often looked back at the girl, never ceasing to smile.

He had realized how much he missed this spectacle – watching her fight was even sweeter than watching her come. To look at her was pleasanter for Ren than to crush opponents himself. Since their battle with the praetorians, Rey has advanced in her fencing skills. She was light, mobile, but no less destructive than Kylo with his heavy, measured movements. He would've fixed up a few things but all the way her abilities were simply amazing taking into account that she mastered a saber just recently.

It was only now that Ren realized why the girl had given the weapon to the stormtrooper. Kylo didn't even need words to understand her, because they were able to read each other's minds. And just like that, looking Rey in the eyes, he unriddled her thoughts and her mood.

She disposed of the lightsaber not because she was afraid of it, as was Kylo's first guess. It was not easy to frighten her unless _she was afraid of herself with the lightsaber in hands, because she too... simply liked to kill._ And then Ren's resolution had finally stiffened, because he learned that Rey had been already moving by the path of the Dark Side. He decided to facilitate her ultimate transition whatever it took...


	14. The Arrival of A New Teacher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite being a huge pain in his ass, Kylo certainly has feelings for Rey, as you can see from his body language. He respects her natural ability to use the Force, perhaps that is why he is drawn to her, not only as to a potential companion, but also as to his ‘counterpart’, which she will become, if with such an indomitable, powerful and at the same time trainable potential falls to the Dark side.
> 
> Palpatine plays an active role in pushing Ben over the edge and into embracing his rage. "Now you will be who you are," he goads Ben, "Who you were always meant to be." …At any rate, it's clear that Palpatine didn't just pop up in that film at the secret Sith Temple on Exegol to fiddle with Kylo's mind. Palpatine was really the one who was chipping away at Ben's morality and breaking his spirit from the very start, and Snoke was merely another pawn in the Emperor's far larger game. Given the way that he responded to the Emperor in TRoS, it's not even clear if Kylo realized that Palpatine had been manipulating him for so long. Even though Kylo Ren ended up being one of the Emperor's most effective disciples, he may not have realized who his true teacher was until it was too late. Fortunately, Palpatine couldn't erase all the light in Kylo…© Renaldo Matadeen
> 
> Mercy beaucoup Rusty K for the music on point with the fight and KVPV on point with vibration

Before long the time lost its meaning for him. Kylo wouldn't be able to tell with certainty how many seconds, minutes, or hours had passed since they arrived in the dock-bay. From the murderous whirlwind of everything that was happening around, his gaze had been picking out only some unconnected details – what helped him to stay alive, or to defeat the thug with whom the girl had engaged in a fight.

With the edge of a mind Ren managed to wonder how wholeheartedly these mercenaries rushed into battle against them, when recently he stripped them any principles other than personal gain. But the well-coordinated actions of the fugitives had been paying off – despite the fierce resistance, they inexorably neared the Falcon. Kylo saw the ship's battered towing lights just a few meters ahead. And just in time...

Tirelessly dealing out the blows, Ren suddenly felt his back propped into something and turned around in alarm. Dameron, completely exhausted by the battle, swaying on drunken, unsteady legs, had been leaning against him off-handedly as though Kylo was a tree. However he still diligently tried to shoot and even managed to hit his targets. Kylo deactivated the saber and grabbed the pilot, once again becoming amazed with the cynical tricks of the fate. He had to save Poe yet again, losing a proper possibility to attack and to defend. Actually now he was in need of a protection himself because of his generosity!

“Over here!” Kylo shouted to the girl, hoisting the pilot onto his shoulders with an effort. “Cover me!”

Rey ran up to him with a brief nod of approval and support, only momentarily distracted from their attackers, but Kylo saw how hollow her eyes became from the fatigue. The stormtrooper, protecting the rear, had been pouring heavy laser fire on everyone around, but also seemed at his limits. Sweat trickled ceaselessly down his plastic-shiny, tired face, which he was wiping against the forearm of his hand from time to time, while the fingers that gripped the blaster had been tensed to the point of a spasm. The closer they got to the Falcon, the narrower their circle grew. But there were more and more people who wanted to prevent their escape. It wasn’t long till their common resources would have run out under the enemy's onslaught.

Humbly readjusting Poe's hands around his neck which now and then attempted to strangle him under the weight of the pilot's body, Kylo rushed to the freighter. He dodged a random shot so that the laser blast meant for Dameron missed. He flipped around, meeting the next shot face to face, and deflected it with a habitual Force movement. Now he had no choice whether to hide or demonstrate his abilities. He didn't want the pilot to blame him that Ren used him as a human shield. But Poe's unhealthy humor was blaster-proof and Kylo's ear had been suddenly burned by his fevered breath:

“So that's how you see the world, you beanpole?.. Everything seems so tiny from here... No wonder you're such a douchebag...”

“Shut up!” Ren gasped angrily, concentrated and projected the Zeltron girl unto the pilot's mind. “Want me to refresh your memory how you were drooling all over _me_?”

To his satisfaction, Dameron jerked in fear and hissed with tired fury:

“Alright-alright, you convinced me, kriffing sorcerer, shut it down!”

Gaining additional eighty kilos with his load, Kylo couldn't display bygone agility. And therefore only by sheer chance he escaped a dangerous collision with a short Trandoshan who rushed towards him waving a durasteel sword. The stormtrooper, sensing Kylo's confusion through the Force, turned to them in time and released an energy charge at the attacker. Ren also - _through the Force_ – thanked him. FN's abilities, that opened so suddenly, this time, it seemed, saved Kylo's life. He had to get rid of the pilot as quickly as possible, so as not to rely on the mercy of his sworn enemies.

“How did you get out?” he asked Poe in a voice breaking with strain. “How do we get inside this bucket?”

The main ramp had been raised, and they wouldn't have had time to activate it from the outside anyway. But, on second thought, the pilot couldn't get off the ship along the main ramp in front of the guards. He must have used another way. During the years while the ship belonged to the most notorious galactic daredevils, the damned freighter was equipped with secret compartments and concealed passageways, which some of its owners didn't even know about. The Falcon itself, like a case-hardened pirate, was adorned with scars and skewered with extra holes.

“Straight ahead... there's... the hatch...” Poe responded faintly, ”It's deactivated... then... through the escape pod...”

“I know, not my first air rodeo,” Kylo interrupted him, grunting. “Follow me! To the pod's access hatch, it's opened!” he shouted to the girl, hoping she understood what he was talking about.

Approaching the Falcon, Ren eagerly nudged the hatch with his shoulder, not caring that he might harm Poe. The door gave way immediately, and he thrust the now almost lifeless Dameron inside the ship without much thinking, like a bale with a cheap contraband. The stormtrooper arrived just in time to take care of the pilot. He jumped into the freighter after his friend and dragged him deeper into the passageway through the escape pod, away from the laser bolts that still pierced the air around them. Kylo lost his interested in the pair. He groped his belt, looking for his saber to return to battle, and suddenly looked down at his feet in surprise.

The surface of the dock-bay beneath him began to vibrate strangely. Kylo could feel the growing shivers even through the thick soles of his shoes. As soon as it reached his innards, Ren became nauseated. However he instantly realized that the reason for this sudden queasiness wasn't the vibration itself, but a poignant apprehension that filled his mind. The cold metal of the star destroyer radiated Force as if it was a living creature. Kylo had never encountered such a thing. He positively knew that inanimate machines didn't possess of such abilities. But this was only the first revelation...

When Kylo turned around, he didn't believe his own eyes. The battle that had been raging a minute ago had faded. The vibration coming from the deck lifted the bandits up – one after another, higher and higher – depriving them of the footing and the ability to control their movements. They struggled with the air impotently, dropping their weapons and widening their eyes with surprise. However, the same vibration in some mysterious way had no effect on Kylo and the girl. They were the only ones left to stand, except for Rey's hair that floated strangely around her head as if electrified.

Being consumed with fear and curiosity, Ren looked at the transport, that appeared in the dock-bay a little while ago, and froze, oblivious to everything else around him. All his attention was focused on its lowered vertical ramp that suspended above the deck of the hangar and on the creature standing on it. But Kylo was still able to hear how the girl breathed out spellbound 'Chewie?'

It was clear that she was wrong. The tall, powerful creature only vaguely resembled a Wookiee, perhaps once it was one. The matted, clumpy brownish-red wool that covered it from head to hind legs here and there had been bristling with long bone spines. The body was fitted with unsightly leathery growths that seemed tough enough to resist the knife or a crushgaunt. The face was disfigured by the out-of-size fangs protruding far from the mouth not letting it to be fully closed, and the complete absence of a nose lost in a fight or cut off in torture. In its place, right in the center, two disgusting holes glistened moistly, quivering greedily, making the muzzle look more like a half-decayed skull.

And yet these disfigurements didn't appear to be mere chaotic consequences of wounds or diseases. The monster was a Wookiee caricature, drawn by someone's perverted hand, a genetically generated creature designed to strike terror and defeat its enemies. Kylo could have sworn that it was physically strong, even though it looked like a zombie. He thought that most likely _it was intended exactly to be a zombie_ – in order to do its job without questioning. Only one thing alarmed Kylo - the eyes of the creature, fastened upon him, couldn't belong to the brute undead, their gaze was too intelligent. It was looking right through Ren and out the other side, it saw his thoughts...

Ren finally understood that it was **the Sithspawn** itself in front of them. This epithet was turned into a terrible curse by his Corellian ancestors, while he had been lucky enough to see it with his own eyes. Ever since Kylo had received a mysterious message and followed a strange calling, he never ceased to be amazed. The Sith alchemy in the Jedi books had been mentioned only in passing and only as a warning against the attempts to use the Force for the sake of the altering the living beings. Together with the midi-chlorians, it retreated into the realm of myth. Even Snoke spoke about this arcane knowledge in a tone of a secondary storyteller. And now Kylo was being shown that, like the midi-chlorians, genetic experiments with the use of the Dark Side were real.

Kylo had no doubts that the mutant was created with the help of the Darkness. He knew firsthand that the Wookiees were naturally no more Force-sensitive than a dry log. But _the dark_ that Ren had been feeling earlier and which had seeped even through the casing of the ship, came from that monster. And now it was broadcasting a powerful Force field that made the bandits levitate. Completely helpless, demoralized, they were already dangling somewhere under the very ceiling of the dock-bay, as if pumped up with helium, when the vibration suddenly ceased and their bodies strewn the deck. If anyone survived the fall without life-threatening injury, he was smart enough not to rise again, pretending to be lifeless. Neither Kylo nor Rey felt any of this.

As soon as the name of the girl resurfaced in his thoughts, he turned sharply to her, only to be frightened even more. She has already adopted her favorite fighting stance preparing for the attack – put her right shoulder forward and firmly gripped the handle of the activated lightsaber with both hands. She was as confused as Ren, her face clearly showing the disgust and horror that Rey had been enduring right now. However she was already assessing the creature as her opponent, and the surprise in her gaze was being slowly replaced by the determination.

She, unlike Kylo, certainly didn't intend to analyze the nature and the origins of the creature or its creators, and even more so to draw any scientific inspiration from the analysis. Now she was probably more interested in the knowledge where she could stab the monster more effectively so that it would die as soon as possible. To attack it hastily, hotly and recklessly. Kylo experienced it on himself - her attack could be absolutely rabid. _That was the typical behavior for a uneducated scavenger who spent its entire adult life bottom-feeding, gathering the techno leftovers of the great civilizations. In this craft one has to be quick to eat._

But... that was Rey, he thought with a sudden affection that scorched his soul. His... Rey. The desperate girl who allowed him to touch her, gave herself to him - hastily, hotly and recklessly - not thinking about the consequences. She was ready to fight together beside him, to protect him, putting down the talks for later. She was ready to defend her friends so that her enemies turned into lifeless stumps of flesh. Her only fault was that she chose the wrong side from the very beginning, and therefore her friends became Kylo's enemies...

 _Of course she chose the wrong side, Ren checked himself sharply, because she stubbornly stood up to her own fate. The girl had to choose the Darkness, she absolutely had to! She should have followed Kylo and belonged to him entirely - in body, in heart and in hand! No one has yet managed to escape its lot!.. And she will become his! Because he always gets what he wants!.._ Kylo swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment. Conflicting emotions threatened to rip his mind apart. At some point, he suddenly realized that he literally _hears_ his thoughts. But when a terrible suspicion dawned on him, Rey had already rushed into the attack.

She ran to the ship, never taking her eyes off her goal, not for a second. But as soon as she approached the platform at a dangerous distance for the monster that was standing on it, the creature suddenly extended its clawed paw towards her, and the Force wave threw Rey back. Rolling head over heels, she only roared angrily when the fall knocked the wind out of her, and jumped to her feet, Force-pulling the dropped weapon to herself. She ran to the alien again, activating the saber on the move, and a couple of moments later flew back, waving her arms like a glitched cooling fan. And got to her feet again! Although this time it took her a little longer to recover and concentrate. When she blasted off to the creature a third time, Kylo couldn't stand it anymore.

“Rey!!! What are you doing?!” he shouted. “Can't you see, he doesn't even have a weapon!”

The girl turned to him with an expression of interrupted hatred, and Ren was taken aback. At that moment she definitely wasn't on his side.

“Will you help me or not?!” she responded, and then waved him off as though Ren was an annoying insect, and again ran to the platform with a saber at the ready.

This time, when the alien throw her away, Kylo Force-caught the girl in the air and didn't let her fall down, gently lowering her on both feet. When he met her furious gaze, he realized that she wasn't expecting that kind of help.

“He won't let you near him, don't you understand?!” Kylo exclaimed irritably. “He won't fight you. That's not what he wants! He wants...”

Then he hesitated in mid-sentence and looked at the alien. It stood with its forelimbs crossed on its broad chest, and in its eyes there was... patient, almost paternal understanding.

"...wants us to listen to him," Kylo finished, fascinated with that look. “Let's give him a chance, Rey.”

Out of the tail of the eye he saw that the girl didn't take his advice and once more rushed on the creature. However, he didn’t even turned a hair when Rey flew into the air with a groan of rage and crashed heavily onto the deck, losing her consciousness. Kylo didn't look at her at all, staring at the alien. Only a small muscle under his left eye twitched now and then.

“My boiiiii, I've dreamed of meeting you for so loooong,” a voice, viscous and profound... in the most disgusting sense of the word, the voice that has already become so familiar, suddenly rang out.

Kylo heard the words even when the monster kept its mouth shut. There could be no mistake – he didn't take his eyes off the alien, as did the monster itself who fixed his gaze on Kylo. And he immediately realized that the creature didn't even intend to speak with him, it was unlikely that it was able to speak in the first place. But it certainly possessed the most extraordinary telepathic power. Although rather it was endowed with it by its creators.

The voice sounded somewhere in the center of Kylo's head, and around him, reflected and augmented by the metal walls. But Ren knew, he was the only one to be able to hear it. To an outside observer, his communication with the monster would have seemed like a silly childish 'who blinks first' game. If, of course, someone in the hangar, writhing in pain or lying breathless, was interested to pay any attention...

Because of the sudden comparison that came to his mind and the imperative tone of the voice, Kylo immediately felt himself a child, in his full thirty years and with the Galaxy under his feet. He tried to hide his emotions, but the fear, which quickened his breath and wet his back between the shoulder blades with the cold sweat, couldn't be controlled so easily. Holding back his jaw that clang as if in chills, he shouted out loud:

“What are you?! And what do you want from me?!” and even dared to squeeze out a contemptuous, almost indifferent grin on his lips; he didn't want the creature to realize how scared and... excited he was.

The alien, or someone who commanded it, clearly hadn't appreciated Ren's disrespectful pry. The monster quite naturally lifted its muzzle upward like a true animal it was, and roared something with a vague aftersounds of Shyriiwook in its shrieks. Then the Sithspawn focused its eyes on Kylo again and, tilting its shaggy head to one side, stretched a paw forward. The next moment turned out to be both nostalgic and terrible, when something invisible and strong wrapped around Ren's waist and lifted him up in the air.

After he lost the ground from under him the memories that flooded his mind threatened to plunge Kylo into an all-absorbing panic. With hands and feet spread out grotesquely, Ren had been clutching at the air, as if suddenly gone blind. Losing control was his recurring nightmare, the reason why Ren got rid of everyone who made him feel insecure. Well, most of everyone...

However, the fear that was reborn by the memories of the rocky abyss on Rarlech and the downfall into it that seemed infinite then, was only the beginning. Kylo was unashamed of being frightened because fear familiarly turned into anger and the latter immediately gave him back the ability to think straight and to resist. Snoke's ruthless apprenticeship was not all for naught.

Ren focused and made an effort to get out of the grip that was crushing his chest. He no longer needed to hide his abilities, and he used the Force. The creature jerked, shifted on his paws, and the unpleasant pressure on the ribs eased. Kylo almost felt the deck beneath him and was rewarded with another displeased roar of the monster, but he wasn't able to free himself completely.

In dismay, he saw the distance between them began to drop rapidly. Suspended in the air again, as though in controlled zero gravity, Kylo, against his will, was being pulled to the platform. On the way scraping someone's body, lying on the floor, by the toes of his boots, Ren suddenly remembered about the girl again and reached out to her through the Force, forgetting how a minute ago he left her alone for the alien to sport with. But the space of their bond was deserted. Nobody got up - neither to help him, nor to impede...

An invisible Force hand stopped him just steps away from the creature, and Kylo, who was still soaring in the air, became leveled with its ugly muzzle. Within such closeness, the monster appeared to be even more sickening, because it’s awful looks were complimented by the smell, emanating from it - the real animal odor with a clear undertone of rot. This stench, the ripped out nostrils,the bald patches in the hide excited disgust, while the ten centimeter canines covered with saliva - legitimate fears for one’s live.

Ren arched like a bow stretched for a shot – he didn’t want to touch the alien by chance – and instinctively covered his throat in case the monster would have took into its head to bite into him. And realized with astonishment that now that they were at the distance of one activated laser blade from each other, he had no desire to attack the creature. Kylo's curiosity conquered even his disgust and fear. Everything he has _tried_ lately has given him a lot of new sensations. What was happening now was even more exciting. And then finally he heard the answer to both of his questions:

"You knoooow, whaaaaaaaattttt..."

The creature, who hadn’t uttered a single word, tilted its head again, now in the other side, there was no malice in its intelligent eyes. It raised its fist and unclenched the clawed fingers. Ren's numb legs touched the hard surface of the platform, and only his quick reaction kept him from dropping on his knees in front of the monster. He realized that he was free, and the expression in the eyes of the creature fixed on Kylo became fatherly-caring. When the words began to appear in Ren's mind again, his attention was at its limit.

“You don’t have to think of me as your enemy, Kylo. The last thing I want is to harm you, my boy.”

The voice softened, a smile clearly sounding in it. But Ren reminded himself that the fear and excitement pushed him to the careless gullibility much too often. He wasted the silence, during which the creature clearly expected a response from him.

“The most I want right now is to hold you in my arms,” the voice spoke again. “But this body isn’t suited for friendly embraces, although, I must admit, otherwise it fulfills its tasks perfectly. Besides, you still have to prepare yourself for my touch...”

“Are you there?.. Inside?” Ren blurted out, pointing at the knobby Wookiee figure, unable to hold back his impatient curious urge.

There was no emotion on the alien's face, but Kylo read a haughty sneer in its eyes. It appeared only for a second, and the voice deigned to give an answer:

“To some extent. And for the moment. While I need it. And while this host lives.”

“The host...” Kylo muttered to himself, glancing over the creature, and then asked point-blank: “Is it true? Did you come back?”

“Came back? Where from, my boy, and... where to?” the voice laughed with pretended condescension, and the laughter was wise to the point of arrogance.

“Everybody in the Galaxy believes you are defeated. My parents, Skywalker... they said that you were dead,” Ren interrupted staying his ground. “Died by Vader’s hand actually...”

“Was I mistaken when I assumed that you knew who I was from the very beginning?” the voice tut-tuttered, faking upset. “Are you suspecting me to be an impostor?..”

Not wasting time for explanations, the alien pointed at one of the bandits who was lying not far away from the platform, not dead, but clearly unable to move because of his wounds, Force-lifted him into the air and dropped again, mercilessly squashing his body on the hangar floor. Ren kept his silence, but at the creature's next words, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristled in chilling horror.

“I never left you. I was always by your side. Ever since you were born...”

Kylo heaved a sobbing sigh, his lips curling into an inaudible ‘no’ as the monster contemplated him calmly.

“Skywalkers,” said the voice softly and thoughtfully, “oh, Skywalkers... The desire to reverse your destiny has always been in your blood, and yet you’ve always obediently followed your lot. I’m ready to meet your objections, Kylo, and you'll have enough aces in this dispute. After all, your grandfather betrayed the Darkness, your uncle had never betrayed the Light, your mother always fought against me. And your father...”

Then the voice fell silent, as if the speaker wanted to observe how his words affected Kylo, and then continued with an unexpected shade of respect:

“Not being Force-sensitive, your father served the Light side, at least because his character always prevailed over his beliefs and upbringing... But when I talk about destiny, I mean the whole breed, not its individuals. And yet, in the end, it's all about one individual. The actions of your predecessors led to your appearance in this world, their genetics – to the fact that you were endowed with the powerful Force abilities, and the mistakes they made - to your transition to the Dark side. You want everybody to forget that you belong to this family, but it is you who'll raise its name to the unheard-off greatness! And the fate of the Skywalkers is working out exactly as their creator wants.”

“Their… creator?” Kylo echoed the voice again distractedly, without taking his eyes off the alien. “You?..”

He didn’t understand at first that although his breath quickened, he still didn’t have enough air. He wouldn’t been able to explain it, but somewhere along the line the voice gathered at one point and began to sound quite ordinary, as if its owner was standing nearby and was just a simple person. It no longer descended from the ceiling, didn’t come from the center of Kylo's head, but gradually moved somewhere behind his left shoulder and... materialized. Ren could have sworn that he felt _the meat of someone's lips_ with his earlobe, and for a moment everything in front of him went black.

“Our possibilities are inexhaustible. The creation of living organisms is only a tiny part of this wisdom. For reproduction of such primitive ones as this Wookiee,” the alien spread its paws, advertising itself, “a mere tin can, necessary physical features can be compiled in the shortest possible time. Creation of independent rational beings capable of controlling the Force requires more than one year of effort. Sometimes it can take a whole life cycle.”

“Is it the Sith magic?” unable to restrain himself, Kylo asked.

“Let's put it off for now," said the voice rigidly. “Too much knowledge at the beginning of the journey can be fatal, my boy. I don't want you to lose your consciousness or your mind... or the touch with reality... You know the main thing already. And you’ll learn much more if you join me. You, Skywalkers, are my masterpiece,” he uttered with a subtle note of pride. “We go hand in hand and we need each other, anyway you look at it, to rule the rest of the world...” then the voice faltered for a second and added hostilely: “The scavenger wench from Jakku should go with you.”

Kylo jerked his dry throat as the memory of Rey pierced his mind again like a bright lightning. The creature in front of him was a living transmitter controlled by Palpatine from somewhere far away. There was no denying that the Emperor had been wise – it was much better than a hologram, and not as self-destructive as projecting an image with the help of the Force. He communicated his voice and Force abilities through the Wookiee.

Impressive but still limited number of them, because he couldn't figure out what Kylo had been feeling. When Palpatine started talking about Skywalkers and mentioned their destiny, Ren grew suspicious. Yet another one was bucking to be his teacher. None of the previous were completely honest with him, and each wanted something from him. Kylo was sure nothing had changed in this regard, and he was fed up with this drill. But the main blunder of the emperor was his praising of Han Solo and... belittling of Rey... Ren's fists clenched all by themselves.

“There is a… unique bond between you,” the voice still admonished, carefully searching for words, “but its advantages will be revealed only when you… come together. I would prefer that instead of the scavenger you had to unite with some other, more manageable... young lady, but beggars can't be choosers... That's your common destiny...”

“You need us both,” Kylo interrupted him, “much more than you care to admit,” and thought to himself, much more than they needed him.

The voice trailed off, the creature still looked impassive, but its gaze began to change. Through his patronizing coldness a displeased surprise had broke.

“You promise me new knowledge like you toss bones to the rancor. Midi-chlorians, alchemy, genetic experiments,” Ren ranted. “It's funny, but I cannot be bought that cheap. You should have something more valuable in stock. For example, an eternal life recipe... Especially since I and the wench from Jakku, it seems, are its main ingredients. Your henchman explained everything too perfunctorily, didn't have time to describe all the details, I sent him to glory...”

“It’s better if you limit the number of words coming out of your mouth, young Solo!” the voice exclaimed with undisguised malice. “Don't bite more than you can chew!”

However Kylo just chuckled when he heard how quickly he was demoted from the great Skywalkers to the mere boy again, which only caused a new fit of rage in Palpatine. The monster threw back its head and filled the hall with a powerful roar. Sounds of moving behind him caught Ren's attention, and he turned. Rey slowly rose to her feet, wincing in pain and cradling her left arm, but otherwise she appeared to be alright. She was already looking around for her saber. **Joy** from the fact that he had been seeing her, that she was alive and more or less well, just for a moment made it through his elaborately rehearsed stone mask of a face. Her name became entangled in his relieved sigh. And these feelings Palpatine had been able to catch.

“My offer is fair,” said the voice, downright affectionate, and the Wookiee was already lifting the girl in the air for another educatory reproof, but this time it was intended for Ren. “A life full of discoveries and accomplishments for the glory of the Darkness... not devoid of bodily pleasures. Of any kind. Anything... or anyone... you desire...”

“Leave her alone!” Ren yelled at the top of his voice, fumbling for his own lightsaber.

“If you say so, my boy...” echoed the Emperor.

Kylo was able to notice Rey come crashing down with a deafening scream, hit the floor and groan before he felt the ground beneath him collapsed in some void, and it became difficult to breathe. The Wookiee approached him with one swift step, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him, shaking him gently as though he were a naughty scurrier. Apparently, the monster held him both with its muscles and with the help of the Force, because the access for air wasn't completely blocked.

Ren still could think, helplessly wiggling his legs, trying to rip off the woolen paw from himself, taking stingy and loud breaths of oxygen. He had found himself in sharp disagreement with being on this side of Force choke, all things in this world were relative. The alien wasn't particularly burdened by this action. It curiously cocked its head to one side and continued 'transmission'. The voice became harsh without any artifice.

“Why are you resisting, stupid boy? After all, you want **to be with her**... I will repay you well for being a father for this child. And the very first thing I will help to overcome the Light that rages in Rey from Jakku. You can't do it alone, without my support. Together, we will pull her out to the Dark side in no time. My experience. Your... persuasiveness...” the voice gave a bark of laughter full of suggestions. “Your interaction with girl will become so... many-sided, so versatile. But it's better to see once... Let me show you... your common future...”

Wookie glared at him, and Ren felt two icy needles in his suffocatingly bulging eyes before darkness fell over him.


	15. The Future (XXX)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rare few have a natural affinity for the dark side itself. They can delve into the depths of the Force and summon arcane energies to twist and warp the world around them. (Darth Bane) © 
> 
> Let my mind guide you! Your Force, but the will is mine! (Cartariun) ©
> 
> Thanks Stavrogin80 for the inspiration

_His eyes were wide open, but he couldn't see anything. The mouth was gaping, but he was numb and unable to breathe. His heart was pounding against his ribs so hard and hurrying, as if someone had put a convor into his ribcage. Now that part of his body didn’t belong to him, it acted as a xenogenic outsider. That was so overwhelmingly horrifying that it couldn't last forever. The numbness began to subside, and the sensations of the outside world were returning to him. Kylo sucked the air with a sob and started to breathe, moaning with each heave._

_"Easy-easy, ssh-ssh-ssh...” he heard from somewhere next to him, and then felt a warm, damp palm on his cheek – its soothing and gentle touches._

_"Rey…” he guessed and sat up on the pillow._

_His eyesight had been adjusting to the darkness, and Kylo made out a female figure beside him, draped with a thin blanket. He collapsed on the bed again, trying to come around._

_"You had a nightmare,” she said with a half awake voice. "Was it Skywalker again?”_

_“Luke?..” Kylo asked mechanically, he couldn’t made out what she was talking about._

_“You haven’t dreamed him for a long time now…” Rey muttered sleepily and halfheartedly, and then she gave the reason: “Just tired, overdid it with skips, that’s all,” and added instructively: “You should have listened to the General.”_

_"The General...” Ren was surprised again and asked anxiously: “Organa?”_

_Rey hemed with concern, touched his forehead and said:  
_

_“Speak not of the evil... What is wrong with you?! General Hux of course, hun!.. I don't know why you always suspect him of some... backstabbing when all he wants is to help. After all we're in this together... You really could've delivered the controls to a droid... Armitage warned you actually, the skipping technique on the new models hasn't yet been adjusted.”_

_In his mind the meaning of what was being said didn't comport with the girl's voice, but Kylo hadn't had time to delve into the inconsistency. He heard her relaxed yawn and immediately felt Rey pressing her naked body against his. She ran her fingers over the muscles of his chest, the bulges of the scars, threw her leg over him, so that he felt her unexpectedly wet vagina with the skin of his thigh. Definitely the girl's dreams weren't even close to being a nightmare._

_“But sure... You want to do everything by yourself” Rey said with a reproach that sounded more like a praise, then suddenly laughed quietly and reached for his crotch. “Will you let me do at least something... for you... I miss you already... You'll be leaving in ten hours. I know what this mission means to you, but can you squeeze your little horny puss into your tight schedule?”_

_The girl bit the skin on his forearm playfully and squeezed it with her lips, leaving a sweet-sore mark. She began to fondle his dick slowly, swinging her hips in time with the motions of her hand and smearing her hot juices over Kylo. Hoping to concentrate and catch at least the ends of the images swarming in his head, he grabbed the girl by the wrist, interrupting her occupation until it... bore fruits..._

_“No, that wasn't Skywalker,” Ren retorted grimly. “Definitely not Skywalker.”_

_He thought that among the vague visions he actually saw the flashing of a lightsaber, and he seemed to have heard the name uttered, but Kylo was sure that his Jedi uncle had nothing to do with it. Rey let out a low moan of disappointment and kissed him again. And again the caress was accompanied by a light bite, only this time she had invested a little more of her sour mood in it._

_“Well, who then?.. Your father? Snoke?..” without a shadow of interest she asked condescendingly and then guessed in mock horror: “Oh, I think I got it! It was Leia, yes? 'THE General'? That's why you remembered her!”_

_The girl found Kylo's hand and intertwined her fingers with his. Manipulating his hand, she ran it over her own body, and then thrust it between her legs, straddling it rapaciously with her slender hips._

_“It doesn't matter-ahh,” she breathed, and jerked blissfully when his hand pressed against her fold. “You killed all of them a long time ago... And if you saw someone of the last living, I've no doubt, soon they will suffer the same fate. Once the tests are over, the first thing is to find the Falcon. Not only because it is a prototype... Here I absolutely agree with our agitprop. It's a symbol of everything the Order is fighting against, the hope of the organized resistance. Its destruction will strengthen your authority and help accelerate the submission of a new territories...” then Rey chuckled: “Well, at least after that you'll be able to sleep more peacefully.”_

_He felt her touch again and couldn't stop the girl, because he was completely at a loss, partly from what she was saying, partly from what she was doing. Her burning caresses and impatient fussing pushed annoying restless thoughts to the background._

_The surrounding darkness didn't disappear completely. It pulled back, and Ren could already make out the silhouette of a girl nestling to him, the rises and falls of a thin cloth that covered them in the place where she_ worked at him. _Rey pressed her wet mouth to Kylo's neck and extruded a moan mixed with a contented smile at the throbbing and solid growth of his cock. Each time when her skillful palm moved to the top of it, the girl, more and more persistently, squeezed the swelling head, teasing it, stroking the sensitive tip with a circular movements. And one more organ betrayed Ren and began to exist independently of the owner's will, although its sensations were unselfishly transmitted to the whole body._

_Kylo involuntarily drew towards her caresses with his hips, straining his buttocks, and felt the pinching spasms just below the abdomen enslave his common sense. His fingers were buried in the girl's vagina, and at first he honestly tried to move them. But the movements were erratic and awkward. His greed for pleasure was too self-centered right now and it doubled when Rey threw the covers off them. Raising his head from the pillow, Ren watched eagerly as the girl tried to fuck him – she mounted his fingers, only to arch her back lasciviously at the next moment for a new move. He still had time to admire how her hand, accelerating, had been riding his penis, which already was at a full combat alert, shiny from tightness and precum, before something has changed..._

_His sticking out engorged dick, her fingers wrapping around it, reminded Kylo of something completely different. One of the blurred images in his clouded mind suddenly acquired clear boundaries, and he gripped it like a drowner._

_“It was you,” he breathed, already on the verge of convulsions. “I saw **you**! With a saber. You fought the...”_

_“No! Don't you dare!” Rey suddenly interrupted him, and the sweet pressure stopped immediately, making Kylo gasp._

_The girl shrank back from him, sat up and turned away, embracing her bent legs. The hand job, interrupted so abruptly, the cold air that clung to his dick, wet with its own - naive - discharge, and Rey's strange reaction were like a red flag for Kylo and he shot up. He didn't want this. He didn't think himself capable of such a thing. But something unknown made him move as if he were a droid on a remote control. And this control had been held by some very cruel pervert, ready to satisfy his hunger and curiosity by any means. Kylo seized the girl, roughly turned her facedown, burying her head in the mattress, and spread her legs._

_“Why not?” he asked, grinding her into the bed with all his weight. “Why did you say no?”_

_Rey began to breath quick and shallow, as if anticipating the pain, and froze like a butterfly caught in a palm of a hand. If she answered Ren, she would have had a chance to escape his sex-intoxicated fury, but she had been silent. And then he entered her from behind all the way down, **and even further** , and began to screw her cunt mercilessly. Her white body, that seemed so fragile crumpled under him and complete submission drove him into an even greater fit. He twisted the girl's arms and held her by the neck sadistically so that she wouldn't think of getting out. Although he let her go from time to time – to watch with enthusiasm how his expanded throbber disappeared into her narrow slit to reappear again, along the way turning the tender flesh inside out._

_Kylo thought of his dick as a torture instrument until he noticed Rey humping her ass to absorb him insatiably to the very balls, and he heard her whimpering in time with each thrust and whorishly begging for more, instead of resisting and asking him to stop. The girl not only obeyed him, but also enjoyed what he was doing to her, and therefore Ren changed his tactics._

_“Why not?” he asked again, reducing the speed and intensity of his efforts with reluctance._

_He heard impatience in her next moan. Rey raised herself on her arms and bended knees, which made the position more comfortable and... more delightful. Even in the twilight, Kylo could see the abundant juices flowing down her legs. That wasn't necessary, but she still licked her fingers – to be on the safe side... or to drive him crazy – and began to rub her clit, approximating her own release. From time to time she favored Ren with short caresses, reaching for his ripening scrotum, gently petting it and rolling in her palm. Already charged up to the limit, he couldn't endure it any longer, just as he couldn't slow down his movements, which gained a frantic pace all over again._

_The acuteness of sensations made him wince and fill the room with loud moans as Kylo climaxed, stuffed Rey with his semen so densely that it spilled out of her cunt. Then he slipped out of the girl, falling onto the bed with exhaustion. For a minute she, still on all fours, had been frigging the violated folds of her vagina, mixing his sperm with her juices, pulling at the sharp, hardened nipples, and then shivered lustfully and ejaculated, squirting, convulsing and breathing heavily, moaning and muttering 'kriff, kriff, kriff' without stopping... To calm her breath, the girl wearily lay down beside him, but Kylo couldn't see her facial expression._

_“If you suddenly fancied interrogating me… now… instead of fucking… well, let's talk…” Rey took mercy on him with a languid air, licking her fingers again – this time to try their_ mutual taste _, and no doubt to drive him crazy while she was at it. “I don’t want to hear about your dreams anymore, or about the sabers, or the fights for that matter. If it was some kind of a test, the attempt failed. I refused to carry a weapon and train, as the Supreme Council had demanded of me, as... the Supreme Leader wanted,” she as if accidentally ran her foot along his thigh. “I will not break my word. You’ll remain the only mighty Force-user in the Galaxy. I live to give you pleasure... to... **love you**... Never forget about it, Kylo...”_

_At that moment the girl moved closer to him and put her arm around his neck. Her features finally became clearly visible to Ren and he… shuddered. Taken by surprise he sat down and threw her arms off with an unconscious desire to increase the distance between them._

_He definitely heard Rey's voice, its familiar pitch and intonations. But Rey would never say those words. She would never justify Hux, his murders and the destruction of the Falcon. She would never call Kylo **by that name**... The girl, full of her Light-side stubbornness, liked to refer to him as "Ben Solo", even after he murdered his own father in her plain view!_

_He was watching at this body - beautiful, trained and at the same time roundish in all the right places. He already loved it and couldn’t imagine his life without possessing it. But Rey - his Rey - couldn't treat her body like that and wouldn't allow Ren to rape her. For that she was too integral and proud, pure and fair._

_He recognized her face, its smooth skin, an assertive chin, and her lips, which in a few days had become the most desirable thing in the world for Kylo. But this face, a complete copy of her, didn’t belong to Rey. The eyes, usually brown and full of real emotions, were dead and clouded with a yellowish haze, which made the whole face look like a death mask, perfect, but no more alive than a spare part, because the droid, that was being controlled from a distance, was not Kylo, but the girl._

_The last thing Kylo ventured to check was their bond. He tried_ to find Rey in the Force _, and had been unsuccessful. The place where they could touch each other’s’minds was empty and bare, like the surface of an asteroid unfit for life. And black, as a collapsar... There was no connection at all. He was horrified that he had noticed it so late..._

_The Dark side made the girl a suitable companion for Kylo. She became available. She thought in tune with his own thoughts, now they had common enemies. But **the thing** he fucked was no longer Rey. Only her shell remained, filled with other people's aspirations, trained to satisfy his lust not asking any questions, but devoid of connection with him and unable to express human feelings, only to pronounce their appellations. At first glance, this husk was the same with the original, although the Darkness was already destroying it from the inside. Over time, it would inevitably corrupt her appearance as well._

_The change in Kylo didn't escape the girl. She grinned and carefully extended her hand to him, trying not to frighten him away, as if she wanted to stroke a dangerous wild animal. But Kylo didn't let her touch him, got up and stepped away from the bed._

_“You cannot rule the Galaxy and be loved all at the same time, my boy,” Rey said with alienated voice and judiciousness that was unlike her, guessing his thoughts. “You will have to sacrifice one thing or the other... And you should make the right choice, but, praise the almighty Sith, you should do it just once... And this time has come!”_

_“This future…” Kylo said dubiously, “I guess, I'll sacrifice this future!” and, closing his eyes, he began to push Palpatine out of his head so desperately that he felt the floor under him started to tremble..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do not hesitate to tell me if this chapter is too explicit for the rating!


	16. Wishes

The space had expanded while the time contracted. Some of the sensations from the vision that Kylo experienced followed him into the real world. Not the arousal - his manhood was not so much as stirred by the delights of the dark Rey. The surface of the dock and, it seemed, the air itself were actually filled with heavy vibration and noise. Only now there was nothing supernatural about it. The creature still held him firmly by the jaw, but the Force support abated – Ren was being punished obviously. Hanging like that he barely managed to draw in the scant doses of oxygen and wasn’t able to look around. But he would have recognized this sound, even if he lost his memory completely, because Kylo first heard and got used to it in his mother’s womb, when he lived by instincts alone. The Falcon had been warming up its engines...

What had been done to the bandits, apparently, didn’t affect the stormtrooper and Dameron. After the battle the wounded pilot was useless, which meant that the ship was gunned up by FN. The creature wasn’t paying attention to the Millennium. Maybe Palpatine just didn't care that the others had suddenly decided to run away from under his nose, while he was... persuading Ren and dealing with the girl. One thing the Emperor didn’t know – the rebels would’ve never left without their friend. And to prove his thought Kylo immediately heard the heart-rending scream of the stormtrooper who was trying to shout down the roar of the drives:

“Re-e-ey!!!”

This was when Ren became eager to see her! As she struggles to get up, goes to meet FN standing on the cargo ramp, grabs his outstretched hand, climbs in and disappears inside the Falcon's belly, without even turning around... To free himself, he grabbed Wookiee's paw at the wrist, but the creature just gave him a rough shake, forcing to listen. The Emperor didn't strain, his words has been pouring straight into Kylo's mind. Outwardly, he sounded calm, but hysterics had already settled and began to grow in the velvety-black depths of his voice.

“If you seduce the scavenger to go to the Dark side, you'll reunite with her the way you desire. She will fall, you possess her, and your descendants receive the Galaxy as their heritage. You won’t get bored. We need to rebuild the Empire in its former borders and restore its power. For that you’ll be remembered forever as the most glorious among us... Of course, you will join our ranks, I'll ordain you myself!.. Just imagine! You, a great warrior with the devoted woman at your side, the mighty Sith, are restoring real order in the Galaxy and becoming the founder of a new ruling dynasty!..”

“Liesssss...” Kylo hissed, swinging his legs like a droid with a problem in the hinge unit.

“Why? Why would I lie to you when I have a choice? Free choice is the most valuable thing...” Palpatine chuckled, looking somewhere above Ren with the eyes of the monster. “I could stop appealing for you to cooperate of your own accord. We have the best laboratories in the universe at our disposal. Undoubtedly the best, because, as you had probably realized already, we have no moral restrictions in regards to the experiments with the living beings!.. But you also have a choice, my boy. Become my apprentice! Don't make me lose your talent. That will be most unwise. I'll share the knowledge to broaden your Force abilities, I'll share my power!..”

“All... liessss…” Kylo objected stubbornly.

He wanted to argue. He would have been surprised if he could analyze his aspirations right now. The Emperor's promises didn’t interest him a bit, he was thinking only about the girl... For the sake of the choice freedom, Rey shouldn’t be pushed to the Dark side! She must take this step on her own, so she will remain faithful to it and maintain the inward peace. Otherwise, doubts about the chosen path will eat her alive. It won’t allow her live and breathe without an incessant pain, without a constant desire to turn back and... change everything!..

Kylo knew that all too well. This was his everyday experience... He collected murders... nurtured ambition... only to make sure that he was still alive and controlled his own fate. And although he was undecided if the passing into the Darkness could be made deliberately, with cold reason and inner balance, he wouldn’t allow torment the girl. But Kylo couldn’t speak, he could only stare at the creature as much indomitably as possible...

“If you're planning to disobey me, idiot, you’ll only ruin yourself! I will have victory anyway!..” the voice exclaimed weary of his stubbornness.

“W-what… you can d-do?..” Kylo breathed out not giving up and twitched his lips contemptuously. “You're d-dead...”

“I never died, you fool!” the Emperor laughed in response. “But... just in order to keep your feeble mind intact… think that I... have never been alive...”

Ren no longer felt the creature's clawed fingers grip him. He inhaled deeply, so eagerly and impulsively that the air burned his lungs. Then he again heard the stormtrooper desperately calling for the girl through the hum of the Falcon's engines wasting the precious fuel. He turned to scan the body-strewn dock-bay while trying to find her in the Force.

“Looking back you’ll never reach your goal that is before you,” Palpatine said. “However, you’re just making it easier for me... to destroy you and the scavenger!..”

Kylo sensed Rey before he saw her, though the dark presence of the Emperor blackouted all the other Force traces. Since her last fall, she was still unconscious, lying in the same place where the Wookiee stunned her. It was necessary to act real quickly, until the creature got to her, or she regained consciousness and began to... pose a hero again. But Palpatine didn't let him go - Kylo was still hovering over the platform in his Force grip. However now he could start a quarrel. Well, he needed to start with something…

“Don't you dare touch her, you earworm!” Ren threatened in a hoarse voice, jabbing a finger at the monster to drive the point home, and added with dull fury: “If you're dead, better stay that way. Because if you are rising, I will find you, kill you again and color my helmet with your blood!"

He drew his lightsaber, but at the next moment dropped it out of his hands. The furious dark Force threw Kylo up and slammed him on the surface of the ramp, like a piece of meat, pinning him down with an invisible but multiton weight, flattening the muscles and crushing the joints, squeezing his skull. The pain intensity was calculated so that Ren remained conscious and felt everything. This was no longer a punishment, but a real torture. And at the same time, some _empty space_ suddenly formed inside him, as if _something stepped out of him_ , taking the most difficult thoughts with it. What more it took away the feeling that Ren was pulled every which way. All his worries were directed at Rey now. Despite the pain and fear, Kylo thought about the girl again. If she fainted from all this, the rogue had hurt her harder.

"I trusted my intuition to no purpose!" a voice screamed in the new fit of anger, as if the intuition was a living thing and deserved an electric jolt. "To no avail I coupled you with the scavenger and fostered your desires... Not for a moment I had let you forget who is she, and who are you, what each of you should become! But you have so much... human in you! Your mind can no longer overcome these feelings, and you..." the Emperor paused and uttered with unbearable disgust in his voice "...love her!.."

Kylo jerked - with his body and with the mind - and realized that that was... true? Ren wanted the girl to be with him only because he planned to use her potential. Physical affection was just a consequence of his curiosity, a pleasant addition to his admiration for Rey's fighting qualities!.. With these words he could have convinced others, but convincing himself, especially feeling this sudden strange emptiness inside, was difficult. Yes, he longed to see and feel Rey near every moment. He wanted her to be with him, like an ally or a lover, like both at once, like none of these, like... Rey... **He wanted Rey to just be...**

"Everything the Dark side doesn't gain makes the Light brighter! You protect her from the Darkness, you have compassion for the damn wench! Dangerous weakness is already gnawing at you. The famous Kylo Ren will never be a true Sith, I won't make such a mistake,” concluded Palpatine with a calm disappointment. "But no more of these! I've fumbled enough with both of you. You'll fulfill your destiny as intended and then you die! It is time to go..."

The Force torture stopped as abruptly as it had started, but the shock didn't recede. With an effort of will, Ren forced himself not to think, just so not to go crazy. Besides, there was no time for that. The monster, predatory quivering its disfigured nostrils, was already looking around in search of the girl. It was necessary to save her. Anger at the Emperor for the torment and humiliation gave Kylo strength. He rolled over onto the stomach and got to his feet. From somewhere under the ramp, his saber jumped right into his hand, as usually unerringly guessing it's owner's plans. Ren activated the weapon and circled an eight-figure in the air with the blade tossing sparks.

The creature roared, held out its paw, but this time Kylo was ready for the attack and disrupted it. He lunged towards the Wookiee but it dodged, clumsily but effectively. Not allowing the monster to recover, Ren indignantly turned at it again, pushing it to the edge of the platform. As long as Kylo didn't let him get too close to himself, the only counter weapon that the monster could use was the Force. By attacking it, Ren made it impossible for the Wookiee to focus. The creature had to use its abilities to parry the saber's blows, and the voice no longer spoke.

Almost falling down, the creature gave Kylo a look full of confusion and malice, and roared once more. At that moment, the holder hatch of the ship began to move, and Ren scolded himself for being so short-sighted. These weren't screams of rage, the Wookiee was calling for the assistance. Of course, the Emperor wouldn't have sacrificed an important mission by sending one retarded Sithspawn to capture them. In case Kylo couldn't be persuaded with words, he was ready to put into action a backup plan.

In the depth of the hold slowly opening, some soldiers appeared. They reminded Ren of the Imperial stormtroopers - Palpatine couldn't deny himself a little nostalgia - only these were in red plasarmor. The Wookiee's expression was almost triumphant now, but Kylo decided not to give it any easy pleasure. When the Force field around him began to shrink again, he jump off the ramp. Ren surely wasn't going to be a hero - all alone against a squad of soldiers armed with blasters and carbonite rifles - until he put Rey on the Falcon.

Once again, feeling himself a target, he complained that in the past few days he had been shot at much too often. This experience, even in the conditions of the war that was being waged by the Order, would have been more than enough for a year. Moving in short bursts between stacks of fuel cans, he hoped only that the stormtroopers wouldn't shoot at him hiding behind highly flammable matters. Kylo was sure - the Emperor gave the order to use weapon on him but the soldiers most certainly realized that Palpatine wouldn't be happy were Ren turned into a pile of ash. Obviously even his renowned medlabs wouldn't be able to conjure anything good from the biological material of such poor quality and scant amount.

He heard another commanding roar of the creature, after which several soldiers jumped down into the dock in pursuit of Kylo. He was only a few steps away from Rey, he already saw her breast slightly heaving with breaths and her fluttering eyelids. But to approach the girl, he had to get out of his hiding place right towards the enemy lasers. He had to deflect the shots and drag the girl to the freighter through a bunch of half-dead bandits who might well have thought to take their revenge on them. Ren couldn't do all this without help.

The Force around him mercilessly hummed with the dark exuding from Palpatine. But Kylo's personal darkness was like a bone stuck in his throat. The attempt to swallow it caused him nearly palpable bodily throes. Clutching his head in his hands, wincing with effort and frustration, he called "Finn" and squeezed out a short "help me." He didn't really believe in his luck. His supposition that FN will be able to sense him had been slender - the stormtrooper was a rookie in these matters, he simply might not have heard the call because of the darkness rampaging in the Force. Somewhere deep down, Ren even hoped that he wouldn't be heard. But then he noticed a movement in the battle tower of the Falcon, caught the sounds of the deflector shield and the servomotors of the laser cannon, which began to turn from side to side hungrily in search of a target. And a moment later the soldiers themselves had to hide and defend themselves.

Kylo crawled up to Rey, unceremoniously grabbed her by the collar of the surcoat, which she still had on, and dragged her away from the chaotic cross laser fire. Blasters couldn't harm the Falcon, but while the skirmish continued, it was difficult to get close to the ship. First, Ren had at least to bring the girl to her senses so that she could walk on her own, however he couldn't find it in him to slap her in the face. Instead he sat her up and, cradling her cheeks in the palms of his hands, several times called her by the name. He wanted her to wake up, and he was filled with horror at the thought of looking her in the eye.

In the last hour, Kylo learned more about himself than in the past ten years. He could no longer treat the girl as before, could not even look at her as before, because instead of the scavenger from Jakku he saw someone else in front of him. Because he himself was becoming someone else... _Maybe his old self, his... **real self**?.._ He found some solace in the thought that Rey didn't hear their conversation, being unconscious, while the old Sith used telepathy. But still Kylo was frightened that she would guess everything at one glance at him, even what was yet hidden from Kylo himself. And as soon as the girl opened her eyes, he cut off touching her and turned away, starting to watch the battle with theatrical fervor.

"B-ben?" she muttered, rubbing her temples.

"Are you all right?" he asked and, as if by chance, examined her. "Nothing's broken?"

Kylo could have rewarded himself for his well-played indifference, although right now most of all he wanted to hold Rey close to him. He realized how long he hadn't kissed the girl, and bit his lip till it hurt. This kind of thoughts could give him away in no time.

“Seems... no...” she said uncertainly. "What happened?.."

"The Wookiee knocked you out," he answered. "There's a bunch of stormtroopers with him. Do you think you can walk?"

“Yes, but…” Rey glanced back at the ramp where the creature was still standing.

The Force kept it safe from the shots of the Falcon, while the Wookiee shouted out abrupt commands to the fresh crew of soldiers that had just emerged out of the transport hold and prepared to replace those made indisposed by FN. Ren had to be quick.

“We're running out of time,” he said firmly. "I'm afraid it's all true. Palpatine is back. This monster is controlled by him. I yet don't know how and from where. The creature is here to take us and bring to the Emperor. You wouldn't be able to defeat it anyway, moreover it's useless. For now it is necessary to run as far away from this place and as fast as possible. Leave thinking for later."

“But... I don’t understand… You wanted to…” the girl interrupted Kylo, staring at him intently, then, as if feeling something, frowned, checked herself and asked: “Who is it… on the Falcon?.."

"Ef-f-inn," Ren stammered, feeling his forehead dripping with nervous sweat under her surprised gaze. “And you know that he can't control the ship and fight those… alone."

At first she just stared at him silently, then suddenly smiled, leaned towards Ren and pulled him to her, hugging him by the neck. From this sudden touch, the whole world around Kylo turned off. The shots, the hiss of the burning coating, the sirens of the droids and the screams of the soldiers - all merged into white noise and went beyond the boundaries of his perception. He realized that Rey was kissing him when the saliva stung the corner of his mouth smashed by Dameron. Following this almost unpleasant sensation, somewhere in his solar plexus a warm wave of tenderness and desire arose and spread in circles throughout the body. He responded to the caress so eagerly and furiously that for a moment he felt that they became united into one being. They were never that close, even when the girl had been sprawled under him completely naked.

"Yes!" Rey blurted out enthusiastically, pulling away from Kylo just as quickly as she attacked him with a kiss. "We need to go home, Ben! Home!.. Everything else - for later!"

She squeezed her eyes shut and, concentrating, several times clenched and unclenched her fingers. It still astonished Kylo how keenly the Skywalker's lightsaber felt Rey, how it invariably chose her. A moment later, she was armed again. Not hiding a smile, he took her hand and, tagging the girl along with him, jumped out of the hiding place. Bowing their heads, they rushed to the Falcon. Kylo had only one goal - they had to get to the freighter unharmed - so he didn't immediately notice that there was a change in the battle.

Thinking that the task appeared to be not so difficult after all, Kylo looked around and froze. His joy was immediately replaced by the anxiety. The shooting almost ceased. The soldiers had been evacuating back to the transport. To the sounds of their nervous conversations, that were heard out of the vocoders of their helmets, some familiar wail added... Afraid to believe his own ears, Kylo looked towards the main entry hatch and in the starry space saw the TIE-fighters swarming around the destroyer. The Finalizer, that had just entered out of the hyper jump, belched more and more ships and landing modules from its docks. Ren realized that the stormtrooper on the Falcon noticed this too when he heard his alarmed cry:

"The O-o-orde-er is he-e-re!!! Come o-on! We should get out!"

Fortunately, this scream drowned out the curses that Ren couldn't contain and sent down on Hux's head. He tracked them down, violating the order of the Supreme Leader himself!.. Twice actually... Events developed too quickly and not quite as he had planned. But, becoming annoyed, Kylo was immediately relieved. That meant that the time hasn't come yet...

When they approached the freighter, FN had already disappeared inside. Kylo pushed Rey forward and paused a step away from the open ramp. He was still clutching her hand, and the girl had to stop too. She looked back at him and smiled, although Ren saw how scared she became.

“You're making the right choice, Ben!" she cried out to him and gently pulled him along. “But… have you changed your mind?"

Kylo glared at her in fright thinking that she _really_ was able to read his mind! However, Rey's words immediately calmed him.

"You wanted to get on this transport so bad," she explained, nodding to the moored ship - the platform with the creature had already disappeared, the soldiers were hastily boarding it through the loading hatch, the drives had been turned on. "And now you are flying away with us. So - you've changed your mind."

He pretended not to hear her and said:

“Before I 'fly away' with you… before I step on this ship, I have a question, Rey. And I need an answer... Why?! Why do you believe so madly, so blindly that it will be me who'll switch?! I wasn't even there... on the clearing... in your future! The Emperor predicted something entirely different, where you are with me... on the Dark side!.. The Galaxy has given you a million reasons for the transgression!.. You were abandoned by your parents, all your life you live lonely and low!.."

Rey immediately lost all her past enthusiasm, and frowned.

“You know the answer...” she muttered almost viciously, but Kylo shook her roughly and exclaimed with hatred:

 _"I don't want to know it, I want to get it!_ Right now! Why?.."

“You are so inspired to make me fall, Solo. Stop and think, this aspiration has been implanted!.." Rey shouted. "Whatever life has prepared for us, kindness is a reward in itself, and cruelty is a self-inflicted wound, such that heals for a long time!.."

"Stop it!" Ren shouted back loosing his patience. "And fucking answer me!"

She took a deep breath, coping with her anger, and said much more calmly, almost indifferently:

"What makes you think that it was a vision of the future? I never told you that! I don't have such a gift... Oh, you've learned how to hide them really well! Even from yourself. But I found them and showed to you... desires, wishes... ** _Your wishes!_** Who will save you from what you wish for yourself?!"

Kylo's face twisted for a moment, the tips of his lips twitched. He dropped her arm and swayed on his feet like a drunk. However that reaction only partly was caused by Rey's words. The destroyer was hit by the first ion charge from the Order's TIE-fighter, and the deck beneath them shuddered. The girl, distracted by this, interrupted their gaze, and Ren was able to return equanimity and coldness to his expression.

“I haven't changed my mind at all,” he said slowly. “The Emperor is a threat. I have to get to him and kill him! You are free, for now... Fly away!"

He saw suffering and plea in Rey's eyes, felt that she wanted to object or talk him over, but then FN appeared on the ramp again. Shouting curses and pointing at the assault transports already preparing for docking, he grabbed the girl and dragged her inside, while Kylo stood still. He had been eagerly catching her glances on himself until she disappeared into the ship. 

The Falcon took off even before its holds have been closed, and thus gained itself precious time. It managed to leave the hangar seconds before the Order troopers had blocked the main airlock. Several TIEs chased after it, but Ren had no doubt that FN and the girl would shake off their pursuers.

Kylo looked around. The first stormtroopers' attack unit was already scurrying about the dock. Some surrounded the transport, others gathered the surviving bandits into a disorderly batch. He exhaled convulsively and wearily crumpled his face with his hands, there were nearly no strengths left in him. But when Kylo glanced at the General who approached him, nothing betrayed his recent internal struggle. Although even after this Hux would have hardly liked him for the unkempt appearance and disheveled hair.

“Supreme Leader Ren,” Armitage nodded to him.

“Hux,” Kylo said reluctantly, taking a tone of contempt. "I'm still thinking what to make of your sudden appearance... You disobeyed me twice."

“Our analysts have found a suspicious Resistance activity in this system,” the General said without a shadow of embarrassment or exoneration for his actions, casting a squeamish glance at Ren. "We had to react! That is your order."

Kylo chuckled and commanded, pointing to the transport:

"Alright, listen to another one. Search that ship, do not take prisoners. I need the navicomp data classified and delivered to me personally. For that you're answerable with your head."

Kylo was one hundred percent certain that they wouldn't find anyone alive inside. Just a bunch of dead soldiers with no less dead Wookiee at the head. So it was necessary to concentrate on saving the coordinates of the place from where the ship had started and probably where Palpatine had been hiding. Ren had to find him and destroy him. For Rey, for the sake of her safety... As long as the Emperor lived, her life was in constant danger. The old man wouldn't give up his attempts to get them and crank up his crazy plan. He put a lot at stake - his power, his very existence. But Ren didn't want to involve the girl in this war, she was too dear to him, he loved her. He had all the might of the First Order in his hands. It would be enough to defeat Palpatine. **_And only for this Ben Solo had agreed to be Kylo Ren a little while longer..._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dark is generous. Its first gift is concealment: our true faces lie in the dark beneath our skins, our true hearts remain shadowed deeper still. But the greatest concealment lies not in protecting our secret truths, but in hiding from us the truths of others. The dark protects us from what we dare to know.
> 
> The dark is generous and it is patient and it always wins - but in the heart of its strength lies its weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite stars. © 
> 
> Matthew Stove. Revenge of the Sith Novellization
> 
> I love you, Mary.
> 
> More today than yesterday.
> 
> But not as much as tomorrow. © The Mule


End file.
